Certain Dark Things
by darth-healer
Summary: Sakura's mission is simple - find a cure for the disease ravaging lower Fire Country. When Itachi Uchiha makes an appearance, sick and traveling with two orphaned children, Sakura is faced with a difficult decision. Itachi holds the key to curing the disease, but will she be able to live with herself after working with a mass murdering missing nin? ItaSaku
1. Chapter 1

"Shut the door please, Sakura," Tsunade said with a clipped voice.

Sakura did as she was told and stood at attention, awaiting Tsunade's next order. She had just finished a particularly boring shift at the hospital and was just about to head home when an ANBU had popped his head into the nurse's lounge and told her that the Hokage wanted to see her immediately.

She knew what that meant - a mission.

It had been almost a year since her last mission - Gaara's rescue - and the nervous butterflies in her stomach left her feeling a bit sick. It wasn't that she didn't want to take a mission - she did. It was just that with the Akatsuki threat looming over the village, and the fact that Sasuke was still missing she didn't feel comfortable taking a mission that would take her away from the village should anything happen. What if Sasuke's whereabouts were confirmed and a rescue squad was sent out without her? What if she ran into an Akatsuki member? Sure, she had taken out Sasori, but that was only with the help of Chiyo-baa-sama. She wasn't sure she could take on another one.

"I have a mission for you," Tsunade said, her hands steepled together in front of her, elbows perched on her desk. Her face was serious, but there was a mischievous glint in her eyes that Sakura decided she didn't like. "It's a solo mission. There is an epidemic in a small town near the border between River Country and Fire Country - Toyeiki."

Tsunade slid a white folder across her desk. "Here is all the information you'll need—"

"You're sending me away?" Sakura interrupted, "At a time like this?"

Tsunade frowned. She wasn't used to hearing that tone from her apprentice. Sakura hardly ever bit back - at least not at Tsunade. "Someone has to go," Tsunade said, "You are the only person I trust to do this other than Shizune, and I can't let her go for so long. I expect this will take at least a month."

"A month?" Sakura exclaimed. The butterflies had turned to full nausea now. She picked up the folder and flipped through the pages. The town was nearly right on the border, almost as south as it could be. It was certainly a long distance to have to travel in case an emergency came up. She flipped through several more pages and began reading about the disease. Dizziness, chills, blurred vision. It didn't sound serious, Sakura noted with annoyance.

"Yes, a month," Tsunade said, "Maybe even longer."

"But what about Sasuke?"

"What about him?" Tsunade demanded, "I've been as generous as I can be with that brat. I'm not wasting anymore of my resources on him. He's made it clear he does not want to come back"

Silence filled the room. Sakura kept her eyes low to the ground, avoiding looking at her mentor. Sakura's feelings toward Sasuke were no secret. Whatever Tsunade's opinion on the matter was, she was usually careful not to tread into that subject around her apprentice. It was a bit of a shock to hear her speak so frankly about him.

"Sakura, this is an important mission," Tsunade said when it was clear Sakura had no response, "An entire town is counting on you. You are the only person who can do this."

As proud as she was that the Hokage felt she was capable of handling an entire epidemic on her own, the guilt of leaving the village weighed down the high. Naruto would be upset left without both his teammates. She didn't even want to think about having to explain to him that she would be gone for possibly over a month.

"Do you even realize how big a deal this is?" Tsunade continued, "A disease is ravaging an entire town - eighty-one people have died so far, and hundreds more are infected. And you're more concerned with sticking around here _just in case_ the Uchiha brat shows up?"

Sakura twisted her fingers together nervously, realizing that Tsunade was right. This was exactly the opportunity that she had been waiting for - a moment for her to shine and show off what she could really do.

"You're to leave first thing in the morning, Sakura," Tsunade said, noticing the determination that dawned on her apprentice's face. "When you get to the town, your contact's name is Rokuda. She is the head medic there. She'll fill you in on whatever information is missing from the file."

"Yes, Tsunade-sama," Sakura said. She tucked the file under her arm and went straight home.

.

Sakura had fourteen hours before she needed to leave. She debated whether or not she should say goodbye to her friends, or at least to Naruto. The more she thought about it, the more painful it felt. A month wasn't really so long - they would all understand. Goodbyes would only make it harder to leave. She could just imagine Naruto's whining - his insistence that she stay and help him track down Sasuke. No, she wouldn't tell him goodbye. She wouldn't be able to look into his eyes and not cave in. After all, if anyone wanted to get Sasuke back as much as Naruto did, it was her.

Instead, Sakura spent her last hours in Konoha poring over the mission file. The quicker she was able to crack the case, the quicker she could come back home. She settled into her couch with a warm mug of tea and began scribbling notes into a medical journal - a brand new one she had started specifically for the mission.

In spite of her unwillingness to go, Sakura was actually quite excited to have a medical mission for once. During her apprenticeship with Tsunade, she had developed an unrivaled skill for medical ninjutsu. Nothing made her feel as powerful, as smart, as accomplished as being one of the top medic-nin in the world. She didn't seek attention or validation very much, but the admiration from her peers after having saved the Kazekage's brother from a mysterious poison had left her with an immense satisfaction - one that had almost made her arrogant.

Now, another perfect situation to display her skill had come up, and no one important would be able to witness it.

Still, this notch in her belt would be a good thing, she decided. Missions like these would help her make her name known and advance her career.

She could still remember the exact moment - in the Hokage tower - when she realized that medical ninjustu was _her_ thing. The thing she could excel at. The Mystical Palm Technique - the one she had practiced on the fish - had been the first time she felt so exhilarated by using a jutsu. Her hands could heal. Her hands could save lives.

Tsunade had been so proud of her, called her the best medic-nin she had ever seen (save for herself, of course).

It was a high Sakura would have been chasing all this time had she not been so worried about Sasuke.

Thinking about her dark-haired former teammate brought on a wave of sadness that she could feel all the way down to the tips of her toes. It was a burning, slicing feeling. She wondered what it must have felt like for him to lose his family in such a way - if just a friend leaving the village felt so awful, so consuming, what would it feel like if he had died? She couldn't even fathom feeling worse. The betrayal, the fact that he had tried to kill her - it ate her up like a fire.

She didn't let herself think about Sasuke often - at least not in depth. Of course, she missed him everyday. She missed him all the time. He may not have felt the same way, but they had created a bond (as Naruto liked to call it) that couldn't be severed. Sakura had long ago given up on the idea that Sasuke could ever be romantically interested in her. She would be hard-pressed to feel that way toward him after the way he had treated her. But Team Seven was different. Team Seven would be reunited again one day, she was sure of it.

A knock at her door brought Sakura out of her thoughts, accompanied by a flare of familiar chakra.

"Come in, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura shouted, not bothering to get up from the couch.

Kakashi entered and flashed a warm, eye-crinkling smile. "Good evening, Sakura," he said, joining her on the couch, "I heard you have a solo mission. I figured you'd try to leave without saying goodbye."

She shot him an annoyed look, "So you came by to force me to?"

He laughed, "Not at all, I'm just curious about your mission. Tsunade-sama indicated that you would be alone."

"Are you worried I can't handle it?"

"Well…" he scratched the back of his neck.

She glared at him with a little more heat than was probably necessary. It wasn't like he wasn't well within his rights to worry about her. Time and time again she had had to be rescued by either him or Naruto. It was embarrassing, of course, but she wasn't that girl anymore and she didn't like that he worried so much about her.

"It's a medical mission," she said, her tone dry, "No combat involved."

Kakashi's shoulders dropped a little, obviously relieved to hear that she wouldn't be fighting. "That's good to know," he said, "So what exactly is the mission?"

"There's an epidemic near the border of River Country," she explained, "It's infectious and deadly. Over eighty people have died already, and hundreds more are infected. I'm supposed to be finding a cure."

"That sounds like a lot of responsibility for one person," he replied.

She felt offended for a brief moment before realizing that he was probably right. She was a highly skilled medical ninja, but her strengths lied in battle inflicted wounds and poisons. Infectious diseases - or any kind of illness at all, really - were not something she was well-versed in.

Still, she was confident that she would be able to figure it out. If there was anyone out there who could, it would be her.

"I'll have other medics helping me," Sakura said.

"Aren't you worried you'll catch the disease?"

"It's crossed my mind, but that's something I'll have to worry about when I get there. There isn't much I can do about it now. I'll just have to make sure that the facility I'm in is sterile and that all of my help complies with cleanliness guidelines. It hasn't been a problem in the hospital in the past, but we'll just have to see," she explained.

"It would be quite a shame if you caught the disease on arrival and died."

Her eyes narrowed, "Yes, it would be…"

He stood up and brushed invisible dust from his pants, "I think I've annoyed you enough for one night," he said with a smile, "I just wanted to check in on you before you left. I'm sure you can handle this, Sakura. Tsunade-sama would not have given this mission to you if she did not believe you could do it."

Sakura grunted in response and turned back to the notes in her lap, not bothering to walk him to the door. When she heard the door open and then shut, she let her head fall back against the couch.

.

The first two days of the her trip to Toyeiki were as uneventful as Sakura expected and gave her plenty of time to stew over what Kakashi had said to her. She ran for nearly two days straight, unwilling to stop for too long, lest her thoughts creep back to Sasuke, or to the fact that she might not be able to cure this mysterious disease, or worse - she might catch it and die.

On the third day of travel, she stopped at an inn for a much needed shower. She was looking forward to getting a good night's sleep in an actual bed this time. The town could barely even be considered that, as it seemed to just consist of a general goods store, a post office, the inn, and what appeared to be five or six homes.

Luckily for Sakura, the inn had a bar.

She sat perched on her stool, sipping sake - a trait that she wish she had not inherited from her mentor. The inn was quiet - it seemed that Sakura was its only inhabitant at the moment.

Until three women walked in the door. Two of them were holding the third one under her arms, supporting her whole weight as they dragged her into the inn. They spoke in hushed tones that Sakura couldn't quite make out. One woman approached the counter and gave Sakura a passing glance - no doubt startled by her pink hair.

"We need a room for one night," said the woman to the innkeeper, "Just one bed."

The innkeeper, a friendly old man who had been nothing but kind to Sakura, grimaced. "Not for her. Take your business elsewhere."

"There is no elsewhere!"

"Look," the innkeeper began, "I can't have people bringing their sick here. It's bad for business-" Sakura resisted the urge to snort, as the inn was empty save for her "-and I can't risk my family getting sick either."

The woman huffed and began to argue. Sakura's eyes drifted over to the sickly woman who had been ushered into a booth in the far corner of the bar. Her skin was unnaturally pale and a sheen of sweat highlighted her brow. Her eyes were unfocused, almost milky, and a pained moan slipped from her lips.

Sakura left her drink and approached the booth. "Do you mind if I take a look at her?" she asked the woman who was still trying to support the weight of the sick woman's limp body.

The woman hesitated and glanced toward the third woman who was still heatedly arguing with the innkeeper.

"I'm a medic - it's okay," Sakura said, her tone as comforting as she could make it. "I just want to help."

The woman nodded wordlessly and shifted so that Sakura could easily access the sick woman without having to enter the booth. Sakura knelt down in front of her and let her hands - lit with green, healing chakra - flow into the woman's system.

This had to be a case of the mysterious disease, Sakura decided immediately. The poor woman's cells were ravaged by infection, affecting her whole body. In response to the infection, the woman's body had broken out in a fever - and probably other symptoms that Sakura could not yet see.

"Is she lucid?" Sakura asked.

"No," the other woman said, "She hasn't been lucid for almost a week. We've taken her to several different healers, but none of them were able to figure out what's wrong. Please, you have to help her."

Sakura held up a finger to the woman to indicate she would be right back. She jogged up to her room and retrieved her medical kit. "I'm going to have to take some blood samples," Sakura explained when she returned. "I'm not familiar with this infection and I need to know more about it before I can begin to help."

The woman nodded. Across the room, the innkeeper and other woman had stopped arguing.

"Hey, pinky, if you get sick you'll have to leave too," the innkeeper called out to her, "You'd better get away from that woman."

Sakura ignored the man and turned back to the woman in the booth. "What were her symptoms prior to this?"

"She complained about being dizzy a lot," the woman replied, "and she had chills, she was constantly shivering."

Sakura extracted a syringe and some empty cartridges from her kit and began to draw blood from the woman. Things were already not looking good. The woman's cells were badly damaged and not regenerating enough. Her body was fighting off the infection and in the process, killing her. She hated to admit it - the healer in her fought against it - but she knew that this woman was beyond help. Sakura could fight off the infection with the Mystical Palm, but in the end, the lack of white blood cells would weaken her immune system drastically. She would be immensely susceptible to future diseases, if she were to make it out of this one alive.

"Her body is trying to fight the infection," Sakura said to the now two women in the booth. The argumentative one had joined her friends in the booth, giving Sakura a suspicious glance. "But the infection - I believe it's bacterial - is too aggressive and her white blood cell count is low."

Silence fell over them. The women both looked at her, eyes wide with high expectations, with hope. Sakura wanted to look away from them, to cast her eyes down to the floor, but they would know what that meant.

"How long has she been sick?"

"Nearly a month," one of the women replied.

Sakura tried not to grimace at the information. It was an unpleasant thought, but Sakura felt good about now knowing how long a person could have the infection and remain alive. She also was pleased to have a blood sample to study. Even though it was too late to save the woman in front of her, Sakura had learned valuable information from her.

"You need to find somewhere for her to rest," Sakura said, "I will put her to sleep to ease the pain, but there isn't much else I can do for her."

One of the women choked back a sob and leaned forward into the table, clutching her arms tightly around herself.

"She's our sister," the other one - the arguer, said. "Please, isn't there anything you can do?"

"I will work on trying to find a cure tonight," Sakura said, though she knew the woman wouldn't make it through the night, "There is nothing else I can do right now. I'm sorry."

Sakura left the booth and headed back to her room, clutching the blood sample tightly in her palm.

.

Four days later, Sakura approached the perimeter of Toyeiki. For four nights, she had used chakra to analyze the blood sample and see what she could work out. She thought with a hint of bitterness that it would have been much easier to do from the hospital back in Konoha where she had the proper equipment for such tasks, but her chakra would have to be enough.

It had been a much slower process than she wanted. It took her the entire four nights to come to the basic conclusion that the infection was indeed bacterial, and that it was highly contagious. For the remainder of her journey, Sakura wracked her brain for a way to stave off the infection, to prevent herself from catching it.

She supposed that because she was familiar enough with her own body, she could use chakra to supplement her immune system and keep her own white blood cell count high. At the first signs of the bacteria in her body, she would be able to isolate it and burn it away with her chakra.

This method, she theorized, would only really work on herself. It wasn't a cure or a vaccine by any means, but it could potentially keep her healthy long enough for her to find a way completely eradicate the bacteria.

Still, she would have to make sure that everything was sterilized properly and that she avoided contamination as much as possible.

The town was indeed quite small, and it was obvious that the disease had taken quite a toll on the place. As Sakura ventured through the deserted streets she noticed that all of the shops were closed and the windows of every home she passed were boarded shut.

She wrinkled her nose as the smell of sickness and death filled the stagnant air around her. Against her instincts, Sakura followed the smell to what she presumed used to be an inn.

She realized upon entry that the civilians had used the inn as a sort of makeshift hospital. There were cots lined up against the walls, with hardly an inch between each one, all filled with bodies. Some of them were moving, groaning in pain, clutching at their stomachs. Others were completely still.

Sakura took a moment to take in the chaos. There didn't seem to be anyone in charge. A few young girls that she supposed were rudimentary healers were bustling around looking frightened and worried.

"We don't have any more room," said a frazzled voice behind her, "We're over capacity as it is. If you are sick, you will just have to find somewhere else to go."

Sakura spun around to face the woman who spoke - a dark haired, short woman who appeared to be middle aged. She was covered in all manner of fluids that Sakura prayed were not from the many sick bodies that filled the room. Her eyes were tired in a way that Sakura could see extended well beyond physical exhaustion.

"I'm not sick," Sakura replied, "My name is Sakura Haruno. I was sent here by the Hokage to help you."

Relief flooded the poor woman's face and Sakura thought for a moment that she would reach out and hug her. Thankfully, she did not, curtailing the need for Sakura to step away from her.

"Oh, Sakura!" she exclaimed, "I'm Rokuda. Tsunade-sama sent me a message saying that you would be here soon. I didn't expect you to arrive so early."

"Right," Sakura said, remembering the first two days she travelled without sleeping, "I came as fast as I could. Let's get started, shall we?"

Rokuda nodded and led Sakura through a door near the back of the room. The inn was not set up to contain nearly as many people as it currently contained, and Sakura had to weave her way around people curled up on the floor or braced against the walls. She held her breath as Rokuda took her down a long hallway that contained five doors on each side.

"Each room has two beds in it," Rokuda explained as she walked, "We've got ten cots set up in each one, so there are twelve people in each room."

At the end of the hallway they reached a stairwell. Rokuda led her up the stairs to another identical hallway. "This is the only other floor," she explained, "Same number of rooms, same amount of people in each."

When they reached the end of the hallway, Rokuda held the door open for Sakura, who stepped inside with a bow.

"This is the area we have designated for you and the nurses," she said.

Sakura glanced around the room. It was almost the same size as the lobby below them. The wall to her right was comprised entirely of built-in bookshelves filled with tomes and journals. Sakura wondered where those had come from if this building had previously been an inn. In front of her was a large window that took up a large portion of the wall and overlooked the street below. She would be able to see who came in and out. A massive wooden desk was in the far right corner, covered with what looked like surgical tools and bottles of medicines. A tall cabinet sat next to the desk, its doors opened to reveal rows and rows of syringes and colored vials.

In the corner to her left was a single cot, pristinely made, and next to it a door that Sakura assumed led into a washroom.

"We are short on rooms, obviously, but seeing as you are crucial to us now, we wanted to make sure you had a place to sleep away from the sick," Rokuda explained. "The nurses will still have to come and go from this room, as it is the center of operations, but they will not enter if you close the door. That is the rule."

Sakura turned back to the woman and gave her a tense smile. "Thank you, Rokuda-san," she said, "I'm going to get to work immediately, if you don't mind."

"Of course," she woman responded. She bowed low and left Sakura alone in her room.

Sakura set to work, unpacking her belongings and unfurling all the notes she had taken so far onto the desk. For a moment, she stared blankly at the scribbles in front of her. She had known going into to this mission what would be required of her, but now that she was here in a building full of sick people, she had no idea what to do. What was her first step?

The moans in the hallway distracted her as she tried to come up with a feasible plan. She closed her eyes and listened to the sound, horrified and enraptured all at once. She was used to being around the sick - she worked in a hospital! But the awful symphony of the cries of nearly four hundred people left her chest feeling tight and empty all at once.

With a minutely renewed vigor, Sakura headed out into the hallway and ducked into the closest room. She immediately wished she had chosen another room as this one was filled with twelve children. They were mostly silent save for an occasional quiet groan or rustle of movement.

Sakura stifled a choke of sadness that lumped in her throat as she placed her hand on the forehead of the nearest child - a girl, probably no more than ten. Her eyes were closed, but the slow rise and fall of her chest indicated that she was still alive - if only hanging on by a thread. Sakura let her chakra reach into the girl's body and noted with dismay that she was in the same condition as the woman from four days ago.

For an hour, Sakura went from bed to bed on the second floor of the inn, doing what little she could to ease their pain. Sakura hoped that the second floor had been reserved for those who had been sick for much longer, because if everyone in the inn was in the same condition as the first hundred or so bodies she inspected, the odds didn't look good that any of them would survive.

"Rokuda-san," Sakura called, walking back into the lobby. "I need to know more about the initial onset of the infection. Are there any people here that have been infected recently? Within the last week?"

Rokuda shook her head emphatically, "No," she said, "We've been turning away any newcomers for lack of space. Most of them seem to have been sick for a while now anyway. No one wants to come here except as a last resort."

Sakura took in a deep breath and resisted the urge to release it in an annoyed sigh.

"What about the nurses?" Sakura asked, "Have any of them taken ill?"

"There are only two, not including me," she replied, "And the three of us have miraculously remained in good health."

This new piece of information struck a chord in Sakura. She tilted her head in confusion. From her understanding of the first woman's blood sample, the infection was highly contagious. The nurses should not have been immune to it, especially after having been exposed to it for so long.

"Alright," Sakura said, "I need some time to think. I will be back in the office if you need me, but if someone comes in who has been infected within the last week, please let me know."

No one else came that night, which was probably for the best. After a few more hours of research, Sakura crawled into her cot and mashed her pillow into her ear, trying fruitlessly to drown out the garbled cries coming from the rooms around her.


	2. Chapter 2

Itachi stole a furtive glance at the shark-nin beside him. They had been traveling for nearly a week now at an almost inhuman pace. They had skirted the border between Wind and River, south, away from Rain. It wasn't a particularly treacherous terrain, but Itachi knew that he could not keep up this level of speed for much longer. They were still at least a day away from their destination.

Kisame showed no signs of needing, or wanting, to slow down. Other than a few beads of sweat gathered around his blue tinged temples, he looked as casual as if he were taking a stroll through a market.

Sensing that he was being watched, Kisame turned his head and met Itachi's gaze with an eyebrow raised, "Something wrong?" he asked. There was a hint of something in his tone that Itachi couldn't quite place.

Itachi slowed to a stop, Kisame following suit. They couldn't stop here, Itachi knew. They were in grasslands, no cover anywhere around them. It wouldn't be wise to camp out in the open, and they were too easily recognizable with their Akatsuki cloaks on. Nervously, Itachi fingered the orange pill bottle in his pocket. He needed to take his medicine soon.

"Your stamina isn't what it used to be, Itachi-san," Kisame said, a good-natured humor lacing his voice.

Itachi raked his hair away from his face and used his arm to wipe the sheen of sweat from his brow. If only Kisame knew the reason for that, Itachi thought grimly, maybe he would stop bringing it up. "There's a stream a mile east of here," Itachi said, ignoring the jibe.

With nothing more needing to be said, both missing-nin leapt off toward the stream. When they arrived, Itachi wandered off downstream alone, under the pretense of relieving himself. He filled his canteen in the stream and pulled his pill bottle out of his pocket and popped one into his mouth. The effect wouldn't be immediate. He could still feel the burning in his throat and the deep ache in his lungs. His breaths were still going to be shallow for about half an hour before the medicine took effect.

Feeling better knowing that he would soon regain some of his strength, Itachi returned to his partner and they took off south once again.

He wasn't particularly thrilled about their current mission, and he was in no hurry to get there, but he could see that his partner was itching for a fight. Their hunt for the jinchuriki had been put on hiatus for a while after the capture of the one-tailed beast, but other missions had still been given to the two-partner teams to occupy their time. It seemed that funds were low for the terrorist organization and the teams had been reduced to hunting bounties.

The man they were currently searching for hadn't been in the bingo book. He was no shinobi. Itachi thought with some trepidation that Kisame would not have a particularly thrilling fight ahead of him and might resort to other, more torturous ways of entertaining himself when they finally caught the man.

He was a merchant, nothing special about him except for the fact that he had crossed the wrong person. Maybe it was a gambling debt he owed, or a deal gone bad, but whatever it was, Itachi thought that it probably wasn't worth the man's death. Still, it had to be done - there was no way around it.

Itachi hoped it would go smoothly so that they could go back to Rain where he could keep a closer eye on Konoha and his brother. He tried not to think of Sasuke and the dangerous path he had inadvertently sent him down. Somewhere in Sound, Sasuke was cavorting with Orochimaru - the one man (scratch that, one of the few men) that Itachi had wanted to protect Sasuke from. He had heard rumors that Sasuke had killed the snake summoner – which wasn't surprising. But where was he now?

Looking back, it was hard not to blame himself for pushing Sasuke straight into Orochimaru's waiting arms. At this point, he could only assume that when the time came that Orochimaru would attempt to take Sasuke's body (if it hadn't happened already) that he would be strong enough to defend himself.

A painful tightness in his chest that had nothing to do with his illness slowed his gait a little.

"Do you need to stop?" Kisame called over his shoulder. He was grinning, showing rows and rows of white, pointed teeth.

Itachi ignored him again and matched his pace with Kisame's. At this rate of travel, they would reach their destination by nightfall. He only had to make it until then.

.

When they arrived at their target's home (which was really more like a shack), Itachi was surprised to see two children playing outside. A boy, and a girl a few years younger were chasing each other in the grass - though Itachi noted that they didn't seem to be enjoying it. Neither child smiled - they simply took turns catching each other, somber expressions belying what they were actually doing.

When the children noticed the two strangers, one of which was blue and had gills and sharp teeth, they shrieked loudly and ran into the shack.

Itachi and Kisame exchanged glances, not sure of what to make if this situation. Itachi had never seen Kisame interact with children before, and wasn't sure if their presence would in some way affect how he chose to proceed.

Kisame merely shrugged and followed the children inside, Itachi in tow behind him.

The smell was the first thing Itachi noticed - a wretched stink of death that permeated the air before they had even reached the door. Everything inside was encased in a film of dust and mold. The windows had been boarded shut and very little light made its way into the dark rooms.

They stepped over toys and overturned furniture, following the smell into a small bedroom. In the bed was their target, obviously sick. He was pale and soaked in sweat, unmoving and barely breathing. The children were huddled beside him, their heads peaking over the edge of the bed. Itachi saw the boy reach for the girl's hand and hold it tightly against his chest. A pang of guilt caught in his throat.

"Is this your father?" Itachi asked.

The boy swallowed hard and nodded.

"Where is your mother?"

"She's dead," the boy replied. There was a fear in his eyes, but also an acceptance - as if he knew that this moment was fated and out of his control. "She was sick, like father."

Itachi looked at Kisame, who was pouting. "He's not even conscious," he whined, "That's no fun."

"Kisame," Itachi said, a hint of warning in his tone. He didn't like the idea of killing the man in front of his children. He knew it had to be done, of course, but it seemed a little cold - even if his death was inevitable anyway.

"Getting soft on me, Itachi-san?" Kisame asked as he cocked his head, "Well, maybe you should take the kids here outside and show them on of your cool Sharingan tricks, then?"

Itachi tossed the man an annoyed look, but said nothing as he heaved the girl up onto his hip and gripped the boy's hand. To his surprise, they didn't struggle against him or even question where he was taking them. The girl gripped his cloak tightly in her fists and buried her face into his shoulder.

"You came to kill father, didn't you?" the boy asked once they were outside again. Itachi set the girl down next to her brother and straightened her dress.

He said nothing to that - really, what was there to be said? They knew the truth already. They must have known about the bounty. Itachi imagined they weren't the first to try to collect it.

"What's going to happen to us now, Yamato?" the girl asked, her voice high, _adorable_ , Itachi fleetingly thought. He looked over at the boy - he couldn't have been more than ten years old. He had a mop of dark curls against his brow and a harsh look in his eyes that Itachi found somewhat familiar.

"Your name is Yamato?" Itachi asked, kneeling in front of him. The boy nodded, but took a step back away from him. He pushed his sister toward his back, hovering in front of her, protecting her.

Neither of the children spoke in response, and Itachi felt uncomfortable. They looked at him with large eyes, waiting for whatever would happen next, whatever answers Itachi could give them. He didn't have any answers, of course, but he would have to think of something, wouldn't he? He couldn't just leave them here alone.

"What is your name?" Itachi finally asked the girl, after the silence had grown thick and tense.

"Don't name them, Itachi-san," Kisame called, emerging from the house with a burlap sack slung over his shoulder, dripping with blood, "You'll get attached."

Itachi grabbed the girl by the shoulders and turned her toward him, away from the shark-nin who carried her father's severed head in a sack. She flinched and shrank back into her brother, her hands seeking the young boy's.

"It's alright," Itachi said, "I am not going to hurt you."

The girl relaxed a little, but still held onto her brother who was steadily backing away from Itachi, "Her name is Sachi," he answered for her. Maybe he had realized that he _did_ want Itachi to get attached. Itachi could already feel a strange magnetism toward the boy, a familiarity that he hadn't felt since he was thirteen.

"Let's get out of here," Kisame said, coming to stand behind the children. Neither of them turned to look back at the shark-nin, but they inched forward, closer to Itachi - who might have still been quite scary, but at least he didn't have pointed teeth.

"We can't just leave them here."

"Sure we can."

"Kisame."

"Itachi."

They stared at one another over the heads of the children between them. Itachi had the sudden urge to activate his Sharingan, but he repressed it, knowing it was a bad idea.

He ran his mind through all the possible options. They could take the children with them and leave them in the nearest town with an orphanage. But that would delay their return to Rain by several days as there were no towns close by, and certainly not any that had an orphanage. It would also slow them down to travel with children so young. They could leave the children here and send a message to someone that the children needed to be retrieved, but who could they send such a message to?

"We could kill them." Kisame offered, as if he could sense that Itachi was running out of options himself, "Ya know, put them out of their misery?"

"They aren't in misery," Itachi answered with a tone that meant that killing them was not an option.

"Well what do you want to do then?" Kisame asked with exasperation, "We can leave them here or take them with us. Those are the only other options."

Itachi was silent for a moment, continuing to mull over his dwindling options.

"You go back to the bounty office and collect the bounty," Itachi said after a few beats of silence, "I will find someplace to take the children. We can meet back in Rain."

Kisame gave him a pointed look, "You wouldn't think that a man who killed his entire clan would be so broken up about a couple of civilian orphans."

Itachi knelt down to the children again, ignoring the comment, "I will take you somewhere safe, but I need your help. Do you know of any family you have anywhere? Or anyone that your father was close to?"

The children shook their heads in tandem, but looked noticeably less frightened. Sensing that their odds were better with the man who didn't have pointed teeth and hadn't threatened to kill them, they drew closer to Itachi. Sachi tugged on his sleeve and held out her arms, indicating that she wanted to be picked up. Yamato yanked her back away from him before he could refuse her.

"Sachi, no," he said with a wagging of his finger. If Itachi had been in a different mood, he might have wanted to smile at the gesture, having remembered doing it so often to Sasuke when they were younger.

"Fine," Kisame said, "I don't want to waste any more time here. I'll meet you back in Rain."

The trio watched Kisame bound away through the grass, north, back toward the border. When the children were satisfied with the shark-nin's distance, they turned their expectant gazes back to Itachi.

The nearest town, if Itachi's memory served him, was about ten miles southeast of their location. He hoped that someone there would be able to help him, or at least have some advice on where to take the children. He set off in that direction, pulling the collar of his cloak up higher around his chin.

After a few paces he turned back to the children, who hurried after him.

"Where are we going?" Yamato asked.

"There is a town close by," Itachi answered, keeping his eyes trained forward. It was easy to forget that he was in enemy territory whenever he stepped outside of Rain. He needed to keep his guard up even more now that he was responsible for the livelihood of two children. "We should arrive by nightfall."

Itachi and the children traveled in silence for several hours. He kept his pace slow so that they could keep up, but the itch to run was killing him. The irony was not lost on him - how he struggled to keep up with Kisame, and now here he was with two children lagging behind.

"Sachi," Itachi heard Yamato say. His voice was much farther away than Itachi had thought. He turned back to see them several yards away. "Here, climb on my back."

The girl jumped onto her brother's back, who caught her with a wince and gripped her legs tightly. Itachi felt a sting of nostalgia, remembering the way Shisui had carried him on his back, the way he had carried Sasuke on his.

"It's alright if you need to stop," Itachi said, backtracking toward the siblings.

"No, it's fine," Yamato said, "I can keep going. Sachi isn't used to walking this far, though."

"And you are?" Itachi asked with a raised eyebrow.

The boy scowled and shifted his sister higher up onto his back. He walked past Itachi, ignoring the man's question. Itachi was feeling merciful and decided not to press the issue. It wasn't his job to pry.

"Hey, what should we call you?" Yamato asked after a few beats of silence.

"My name is Itachi," he answered. He considered for a moment that he should have used an alias - that it was unwise to have shared his real name like that, but the name had slipped out and the damage was done.

"Itachi-san," Sachi said with a giggle.

The giggle made him nervous.

The unlikely trio continued through River Country, hiking through the tall grass until they reached a wide river. Itachi suddenly felt very foolish for not having considered the fact that they would not be able to use chakra to cross it like he could. He wasn't aware of a bridge nearby, which meant he would have to carry them.

"Come here," Itachi commanded, "I'm going to have to carry you across the river."

Sachi immediately leapt down from her brother's back and bounced straight into Itachi's outstretched arms. He shifted her against his hip and wondered if her blind trust in him was a trait he should be worried about or grateful for. Her brother, on the other hand, was shaking his head.

"I don't need you to carry me."

"Then how will you cross the river?"

"I'll swim."

"The river is at least four miles wide," Itachi countered, "Can you swim for four miles against the current?"

Yamato huffed in irritation and stalked over to the riverbank, his arms crossed indignantly.

"You'll be wet for the rest of the day," Itachi said just as the boy had begun to wade into the water. This stopped him in his tracks. He froze, Itachi assumed weighing the pros and cons of sacrificing his pride or traveling for several more hours in the chilly air with wet clothes.

Itachi gave the boy about a minute to make the choice, and when he showed no signs of making a decision, Itachi swooped him up with his free arm and sped off across the river.

"Hey!" Yamato shouted, struggling for a moment before realizing that he did not want to be dropped into the rushing river. Itachi allowed him to climb onto his back while he shifted Sachi into his arms, cradled like a baby. He heard Yamato mutter something bitterly under his breath. In the opposite vein, he fought back a grin when he saw the contented smile on his sister's face as she snuggled closer to his chest. It had been a long time since he had held someone like this.

He couldn't even imagine another person who would feel comfortable being this close to him. The only person in the world he cared about currently hated him enough that his life goal was to kill him. That was admittedly Itachi's own doing, but still, it hurt to think about. Everyone else… well, he was a missing-nin after all. A terrified orphan girl was the best he was going to get.

Itachi shook those thoughts from his head and quickened his pace. The sooner he reached town, the better.

.

Several hours later, Itachi had removed his cloak and turned it inside out so that the red clouds were hidden. He couldn't risk anyone recognizing him as an Akatsuki member while he was with the children. If anyone recognized him as Itachi - well, that couldn't be helped.

Sachi was clinging to Itachi's back, her arms around his neck. She had gotten used to being carried, it seemed, and did not want to be put down like Yamato did. Itachi had continued to carry him long after they had crossed the river, but when the town came into view, he insisted that Itachi let him walk.

Itachi complied, grateful that the boy had let him carry him that far. It would have taken several more hours to reach town had he been forced to slow his pace down to match the young boy's.

They entered the town's inn together, looking every bit like a travel-worn family. Itachi approached the counter apprehensively.

"Do you need lodging for the night?" the innkeeper, an elderly woman with missing teeth and an ivory comb in her hair asked.

"I was hoping you might be able to help me," Itachi said, holding Sachi against his chest. The girl peered curiously at the old woman and then buried her face back into Itachi's shoulder. The woman grinned and then turned back to Itachi.

"What can I do for you?"

"These children," Itachi began, gesturing toward the boy who had been reaching into a bowl of sweets left on the counter. Itachi swatted his hand away, "They're orphans. Is there an orphanage nearby that I could take them to?"

"Oh, dear," said the woman, a genuine sadness in her voice. She tutted and cooed at Sachi, who did her best to ignore the woman until she offered her a lollipop from the bowl on the counter. Sachi snatched it quickly and lodged it in her cheek before turning back away from the woman.

"If she gets one, I want one!" Yamato exclaimed. Itachi wondered if he had ever sounded that petulant as a child.

"Of course, my boy," the woman said, handing another lollipop to Yamato. He shot Itachi a triumphant look and popped it into his mouth.

Itachi cleared his throat.

"Right, the orphanage," she said, "Well, there isn't one in this town, but there is a town near the border, Toyeiki. There is an orphanage there, I believe. Well, there used to be, anyway. I'm not sure anymore."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, there's been some kind of epidemic happening over there," the woman explained, "People sick, bedridden with some kind of disease. There's no cure for it, as far as I know."

Itachi thought back to the mission target, the children's father sick and on the verge of death. Toyeiki was his best shot for now, epidemic or not. He had heard of the town before. It was farther down south, farther away from Rain. It would set him back by nearly a week.

"Are you sure that's the closest orphanage?"

"I'm sure," she replied.

It wasn't the best news, but it was the best he had to work with. He would take the children to Toyeiki and drop them off. He would have to be careful not to be seen as it was dangerously close to Fire Country. If everything went smoothly, he could be back at Rain in two weeks. He would send a message to Kisame at the bounty office by crow. Hopefully it would get there before he did. Kisame could cover for him until his return.

"Alright," Itachi said, his tone flat, "I'd like to rent one room, two beds."

.

"Itachi-san, Yamato keeps pulling my hair!"

"Well, you keep kicking me!"

"You're taking up my side of the bed!"

"You're hogging the covers!"

Itachi stared blankly at the ceiling. By his estimations, it was nearing two in the morning and he had not had a minute of sleep. He tried to think back to what he would have done if Sasuke had been causing trouble, but he couldn't remember a time when he and Sasuke bickered the way these siblings were. What would his mother have done?

"That's enough from both of you," Itachi said. "Go to sleep."

A rustling accompanied by a few grunts told Itachi that they were at least trying to obey him. He let his eyes fall shut and waited. After several more seconds of the bed creaking under them, it seemed that they had finally fallen asleep. Or were at least pretending to be asleep.

He stayed awake through the rest of the night, unable to sleep even in the silence. He couldn't explain the nervousness he felt - the way it brewed restlessly in the pit of his stomach. He wasn't prone to nerves - certainly not without reason. It left him on edge, feeling that something wasn't quite right.

He felt some trepidation at the fact that he would be returning to Rain much later than he was expected, but that wasn't the reason for his nerves. No, this feeling was entirely unrelated. His thoughts drifted to the two sleeping children in the bed next to his for a moment, and he considered that maybe they were the cause of these unwanted nerves.

But no, that wasn't it either. He was concerned for their well-being, of course, but the sinking feeling was different. Almost like a premonition - Itachi could feel that something big was about to happen.

The dipping of his mattress brought him out of his reverie as Sachi climbed into his bed with a whimper. She crawled underneath his blanket and curled her tiny form around his leg.

"Itachi-san," she whispered.

He grunted in response.

"I think I wet the bed."

.

The next morning, the trio was back on the road. Itachi had been no stranger to caring for children. He had taken care of Sasuke's accidents on the rare occasion that he had them, but it felt different to be taking care of children he didn't know. He had wrinkled his nose in disgust when he changed the sheets on the bed - a thing he had never done when assisting his own little brother.

Unfortunately, the children did not have any spare clothes - only what they had brought on their backs. Yamato had somehow escaped the incident completely dry, but Sachi needed a new outfit. Having no other options, Itachi had dressed her in one of his own shirts that came all the way down to her ankles.

It was an odd sight, to be sure - a man traveling with two children, one of which was only dressed in what was obviously a grown man's shirt. Itachi could only hope that they would not run into someone who would question him. At least, he thought, if that happened he could always use intimidation. He didn't like to think of himself as a particularly scary-looking man, but he was aware of the way people tended to give him a wide berth.

Itachi-san," Yamato asked. They had been on the road for most of the day, and Itachi predicted the question before it could escape the boy's lips.

"We are not there yet," he answered.

"When will be there?"

If Itachi were a less patient man, he might have rolled his eyes, "We will be there soon."

Yamato peered at the man ahead of him. Itachi had been gracious enough to let him walk again, but Sachi was attached firmly to his back still, clinging to him with her arms around his neck.

"What will happen to us," Yamato asked, "When we get to Toyeiki?"

"I don't know."

He wished he had a better answer for them. He wished that he could find some way to make sure that they were safe permanently. If time wasn't a constraint, Itachi would have spent more energy on making sure that they would be well taken care of. As it was, this was the best he could do. And he didn't know if that was enough.

"Why do we have to go to Toyeiki?" Yamato asked, "Why can't we just stay with you?"

"It's too dangerous."

"I can fight," the boy countered, "Father taught me how to use a kunai."

Itachi stopped and pried Sachi from his back. He fished a kunai out his pouch and handed it to Yamato. "If you can hit me with the kunai," he said, "I will take you both with me."

He knew that a merchant's son would not be able to hit him. Not even a highly skilled shinobi would be able to hit him without putting in some serious effort. But it was a good opportunity to see what the boy was capable of. He might feel better about leaving them in the care of strangers if he thought the boy was any good.

Yamato's eyes lit with excitement and he twirled the kunai around his finger. Itachi carried Sachi over to a nearby tree and told her to stay put. She nodded at him with wide eyes.

"Alright, Yamato-chan," Itachi said, "Begin."

Yamato immediately flung the kunai toward Itachi. Itachi leaned away from the attack, not even moving his feet. The kunai hit the tree behind him and clattered to the ground.

"How many tries do I get?" Yamato asked, unperturbed by his failure.

"One."

"One more?"

"Fine," Itachi conceded, "One more."

After at least fifty more attempts, Itachi finally drew the line. He had wasted nearly an hour "sparring" with Yamato, but he couldn't say that he felt bad about it. Yamato was predictably not very skilled with a kunai, but he had begun to show improvement nearing the end of their session.

"You are impossible to hit!" Yamato exclaimed as Itachi replaced his kunai in his pouch, "You must be an incredible ninja. How did you get so good?"

"I train," Itachi said. He retrieved Sachi from her curled up position under the tree, careful not to wake her.

"I want to be a ninja like you," Yamato said, falling in step behind Itachi, "when I'm older."

"Being a ninja is dangerous," Itachi said, "Are you sure that's what you want to do?"

"Yeah, I'm sure," Yamato replied, "I want to be able to protect my sister."

 _From people like you,_ Itachi finished in his head. The increasingly familiar pang in his chest returned.


	3. Chapter 3

When Sakura woke up the next morning her head was pounding. She had tossed and turned restlessly all night. If the cries and moans of pain had not been enough to keep Sakura awake, the smell alone would have done it.

She spent the entirety of the morning looking over her notes and studying the few blood samples she had taken. She still found it curious that the nurses and Rokuda had not yet taken ill in spite of having been surrounded by the infection for so long and had taken a blood sample from one of the nurses to compare alongside the sample from the woman she met at the inn.

The infection was brutal, Sakura noted. She had lost the majority of the people who had been at the inn when she arrived. Almost three hundred people had died. Their bodies had been stacked in a pyre a mile or two west. The pyre stayed lit constantly, with a few of the civilian men looking after it, tossing in more bodies as they came.

Her gut wrenched with the thought that she was supposed to have saved them. Her entire purpose in coming to Toyeiki was to save everyone. At the first blur of tears in her eyes, Sakura had angrily wiped them away and refocused her attention on the papers in front of her. She didn't have time to be feeling sorry for herself. Everyone was depending on her.

By mid-morning, Sakura had made some progress.

"Rokuda-san," Sakura said, trying not to wake the few people left who were sleeping, "I think I'm on to something and I need your help."

"Anything, Sakura-san, what is it?"

"You and the nurses," she began, "I've been studying your blood samples and it seems that there are some people who are naturally immune to the disease. I think it might be related to chakra in some way. As far as I know, no shinobi have fallen ill, or no one who is able to use chakra, anyway."

"That makes sense," Rokuda answered, "The nurses and I, we've been exposed for so long. The only thing we have in common is a little knowledge of medical jutsu."

"Right," Sakura said, "But that isn't going to help me come up with a cure. I need to study one of you and see how the infection tries to fight against your body's defenses – if it does at all. Would one of the nurses be willing to let me do that?"

Rokuda tilted her head to the side, pondering who would be best suited for such a thing, "Kira would be willing, I'm sure," she answered, "But how long would this take her away from her duties? We're understaffed as it is."

"I don't know," Sakura admitted, "But if it will help me come up with a cure, it will be worth it."

Rokuda nodded in agreement.

.

Kira was a quiet girl, who Rokuda had incorrectly assumed would have been willing to take part in such a project. Maybe she had mistaken her penchant for avoiding conflict for a willingness to do nearly anything, but it was clear to Sakura that Kira was only doing as she was told.

She flinched at every needle, every probe of Sakura's chakra. She was an exceptionally difficult patient for someone who supposedly dealt with other patients on a regular basis.

"Kira-san," Sakura said, "Are you uncomfortable doing this? Should I ask the other nurse?"

The petite girl shook her head, "No, Amika would not like this anymore than I do."

"Is it really so bad? You have it much easier than the people around you who can barely stand up."

"I know."

"Don't you want to help them?"

"I'm still here, aren't I?"

Sakura narrowed her eyes but said nothing else. She continued to run tests and study the samples for the rest of the afternoon, stopping occasionally to check in on the sick.

So far no one else had come seeking help – no one who had been more recently infected. It should have been a good sign, that no one else was getting sick, but it meant slower progress on the cure.

"Kira!" Sakura exclaimed, startling the poor girl out of the comfortable silence that had descended on Sakura's makeshift office, "I think I have it!"

Kira stood up quickly, nearly knocking over a stack of books on the table beside her, "You do? What is it? How can I help?"

"The infection," Sakura began, pointing to a diagram of the human body in one of her journals, "it seems to be more prevalent in areas of the body where chakra accumulates – chakra points. Except, for those who are sick, they don't have an accumulation of chakra there."

"What does that mean?" Kira asked.

"It means, we can use our chakra to stimulate the chakra points in the infected and hopefully burn off the infection with their own chakra as it responds to our foreign chakra," Sakura answered, pleased with her new discovery.

"So we'll have to do that for every single person here?" Kira asked, "That's not really a cure."

Sakura was too pleased with herself to scowl, "No, but it will help us prevent more people from dying – and if we manage to get every person infected clean, then we won't have to worry about a cure immediately."

Kira shrugged, "Alright, let's do it."

.

For the next few hours, Sakura taught Amika, Kira, and Rokuda how to use their chakra to stimulate the chakra points and burn off the infections. It was tedious work – dangerous work. They could potentially damage chakra pathways and cause severe damage to the central nervous system.

When Sakura was satisfied that each woman was able to perform the task sufficiently, they set about healing the remainder of the sick.

It took the better part of the day, and they lost several patients in the interim, but after a grueling seven hours, each person in the inn was cleared of the infection.

"Thank you so much, Sakura-san," Rokuda said wiping her brow with the back of her hand. "We couldn't have done this without you."

"It's not over yet," Sakura said tightly, "I still need to find an actual cure. We don't know how many more infected there are out there, and this thing is highly contagious. I still would like to be notified if someone else shows up who has been recently infected."

"That might happen sooner than you think," Kira said from her perch on Sakura's cot. She tossed Sakura the newspaper that had been in her lap.

Sakura caught it with ease and glanced down at the headline. It appeared that Toyeiki had just become renowned for its care of the sick. She skimmed the article, noting that the author had deemed Toyeiki to be a safe-haven for the sick.

"Oh my god," Sakura muttered, "I guess we better prepare for an influx of patients, then."

.

Later that night, Sakura sent a messenger bird back to Konoha with a message for Tsunade. She had been in Toyeiki for almost two weeks and was no closer to finding a cure. He work-around had bought her some time for those who were infected, but if she was going to create a vaccine, she needed some help.

She had asked for reinforcements – a small team of her nurses from back home that could help her with the sick, and also some equipment that would be useful for data analysis.

She didn't like to admit it, even to herself, but Sakura felt in over her head. She wasn't used to being the one in charge and it was taking a mental toll on her. There was no one to ask for help, and no one to catch her if she fell.

Having a found a way to help those who were infected, Sakura felt much better about the situation. The inn was no longer filled with the cries of the sick, the moans of pain that had kept her awake for nearly three weeks.

But a cloud hung over her head. Was there something that she was missing? Tsunade had put so much faith in her – it pained her to think that she might have misplaced it. The mission was supposed to only last for a month. That was how long Tsunade had estimated it would take her. She was nearing on three weeks now. Had Tsunade over-estimated her abilities? Was she wrong to have sent her instead of Shizune?

Sakura didn't often doubt her medical skills. Sure, she was young. But Tsunade herself had said that she had surpassed her mentor.

At the hospital, Sakura knew exactly what she was doing. She could heal a broken bone, repair a damaged lung, she could even use chakra to sustain someone's life after they had been dead for several minutes. She was a miracle worker. She could command her nurses efficiently, she could think well under pressure. She could multi-task like a champ.

And yet, she was at a loss.

Unbidden, thoughts of Naruto came to her. She could vividly remember a time that Naruto had hurt himself training and been rushed to the hospital. It was shortly after he had returned to Konoha after training with Jiraiya.

He had used up nearly all of his chakra – an impressive feat for someone like him – and was verging on death when Jiraiya carried him through the hospital doors. Sakura felt lucky to have been standing in the lobby at the time. She wasn't usually one to dawdle – certainly not when there was work to be done. But for whatever reason, she found herself near the entrance, chatting amicably with one of the nurses.

Her heart nearly stopped when she saw Naruto's limp body flung over Jiraiya's shoulder. She had rushed to his side and her glowing green hands reached his chest before Jiraiya had even set him on the gurney.

Had Tsunade been there, she would have snatched Sakura away from the boy so fast it would have given her whiplash. It was a rule – medics could not work on their family. And of course Naruto was family. At least Tsunade would have seen it that way.

But Tsunade was not there, and the nurses were wise enough (or scared enough of Sakura) not to say anything.

For hours, Sakura pumped her own chakra into Naruto's system, slowly leaking it to prevent damage to his chakra pathways. It was grueling work, but if she stopped for even a moment, Naruto's life would be over.

"What do you think you're doing?"

She heard Tsunade enter the room behind her, but she didn't have the strength to answer, or the right words to say. She had been caught red-handed.

"Step away from him, Sakura."

"I can't," she choked out, "I can't let him die."

Tsunade stepped around the girl, clucking like a mother hen. She let her hands fall to Naruto's chest just above Sakura's.

"I'll take over from here. Go home and get some rest."

Sakura nodded and pulled her hands back, relieved that the only other person she would trust to take care of Naruto was there.

"Oh, and Sakura?" Tsunade spoke just as Sakura was disappearing through the door, "Report straight to my office first thing in the morning."

She had been in a lot of trouble for the mishap. Tsunade had stripped her of her duties for an entire week. She wasn't permitted to step foot in the hospital, preventing her from taking care of any clerical work as well.

At first, she felt that the punishment was unfair. It left her with nothing to do but "think about what she had done," in Tsunade's words. Sakura didn't feel that the incident warranted much thinking. She did what she had to do. She saved Naruto's life!

But after the first day, Sakura found some good company.

"Thanks for saving me, Sakura-chan," Naruto said, barging through the front door of her apartment. It was the first time he had ever been there since she had moved while he had been away training.

"You shouldn't have been so stupid," Sakura chided, but her heart wasn't really in it.

"I know, I know," he replied, waving his hand dismissively, "But I was on the verge of figuring out this new jutsu I've been working really hard on."

"Would it have been worth it if you died?"

"It will be worth it if it will help me bring Sasuke back."

The pair fell silent at the mention of their teammate. The air effectively sucked from the room, Sakura collapsed onto her couch with a sigh. Naruto followed suit and threw an arm around her shoulder.

She wasn't sure how long they sat there, or when she had started to lean into him. Those three years away from Konoha had really changed Naruto – had changed her as well. She couldn't remember why she had disliked him so much when they had been genin and felt guilty about the way she had treated him.

He had been obnoxious, true, and that hadn't changed much. But he had also been a good friend, devoted to her when Sasuke wasn't - kind to her when Sasuke was cruel. Realizing that had been Sakura's first step to getting over her crush on Sasuke. Sasuke would never treat her the way Naruto did. And maybe that was what she deserved for being so mean to Naruto for all those years.

"I'm going to bring him back for you, Sakura," Naruto said, his voice low and tense, "I promise."

"Thanks, Naruto."

.

A week later Ino arrived, carrying a massive pack on her back.

"Hey, forehead," she said, tossing her pack onto an empty cot in the lobby on the inn, "It smells like death in here."

Sakura gave her a pointed look and went straight for the pack. It contained several small medical machines that could break down the material make-up of nearly anything placed inside, a microscope, and a few scrolls pertaining to infectious diseases.

"So it's just you, then?" Sakura asked. "I asked for a team."

"You don't need a team when you have me."

"You do understand that you're my subordinate on this mission, right?"

Ino waved her hand dismissively, "Yeah, yeah, whatever."

Together, Sakura and Ino set up the equipment in the office and Sakura filled Ino in on what she had discovered so far. They sent blood samples through the machines, hoping to fill in the blanks with what new information the equipment could provide.

"I don't know, Sakura," Ino said after several minutes, "It doesn't look like the disease is responding at all to antibiotics. You said it didn't even try to adapt to them – they just had no effect."

"Yeah, I know," Sakura said, rubbing her brow with the back of her hand, "That's what I don't understand. The only thing it seems to respond to is chakra."

"Could you create a vaccine infused with chakra?"

Sakura thought about this for a moment, pinching her lower lip between her finger and thumb. "I'm not sure how I would go about doing that," she said, "I've never seen chakra utilized in that way before. It's worth a try, I suppose."

The pair grew silent, each girl scribbling down notes. They worked quietly for a while, and Sakura felt comforted by Ino's presence. She had begun to feel a little homesick after being away from Konoha for so long. It felt nice to have the blonde around, a little reminder of home.

She glanced over at her friend who was chewing her lip with determination as she studied something underneath the microscope. Ino's talents didn't really fall into the medical jutsu category. She had trained with Tsunade, of course, but compared to Sakura, Ino's knowledge of medical jutsu was extremely limited.

With wry amusement, Sakura realized that Tsunade hadn't sent Ino because of her medical knowledge, but rather because of her ability to push Sakura forward, to spur her in to action.

Ino had always been one to get on Sakura's nerves, but not necessarily in the worst possible way. She had a habit of bringing out the competitive nature in Sakura. It all boiled down to Sasuke, she supposed. But she couldn't think about that right now.

"What are you staring at, Forehead?"

"Nothing, Pig."

.

In the few days that followed Ino's arrival, the inn had gone through some drastic changes. After Sakura's discovery of burning off the infection with chakra, the inn's population had dropped to zero, giving the nurses a much needed reprieve and Sakura an opportunity to work on the cure.

But the headlines had brought in an even larger crowd. New sick were constantly shuffled in to the inn, bringing it's population right back up to where it was when Sakura arrived almost a month ago.

To her dismay, it seemed that every new patient had been infected for at least a week, so there was no one recently infected to study. She called it intuition, as she had no reason to believe it, but Sakura was certain that if she could study someone who had been recently infected she could find out something that would lead to a breakthrough.

Kira and Amika were struggling to keep up with the new influx of patients. They did not have the same training as Sakura and Ino, whose chakra control was vastly superior to theirs. This left Sakura, Ino, and Rokuda to deal with the brunt of the work.

"We're sorry, Sakura-san," Kira said, having collapsed from exhaustion on Sakura's cot in her office. Amika was next to her, already snoozing and leaving a considerable amount of drool on Sakura's pillow.

"Don't worry about it, Kira," Sakura said, gathering as many clean cloths from the cabinet as she could carry, "It isn't your fault. You're doing your best."

Kira didn't say anything else, but Sakura could feel her eyes on her back and she went back down to the lobby.

.

By the next day, the inn had been mostly cleared again. There were stragglers that came in every so often, but Rokuda or one of the nurses were easily able to handle the work load now that there weren't several hundred patients to tend to.

Sakura and Ino were back in the office above the lobby, curled up in their chairs. To an outsider it might have seemed like they were catching up on some light reading, but in spite of their relaxed demeanors, they were both bordering on mental exhaustion.

"We could try using a seal," Sakura said, thinking out loud more than making a serious suggestion.

"Rokuda wouldn't be capable of sealing anything," Ino pointed out, "And if she couldn't, then the nurses couldn't either."

Sakura frowned.

"It's a good solution to the problem," Ino said quickly, noticing the frown lines deepen around Sakura's mouth, "But once we're gone, it won't help anymore."

Sakura let out a groan of frustration. She could burn the infection away with chakra. She could seal it away with a justu. But she couldn't come up with an actual cure. It seemed that nothing they did could fix the problem without the use of chakra.

"Do you think we should try to find patient zero?" Ino asked, "It might give us some insight about what the cause it and how we can prevent it."

Sakura mulled over her words for a moment. It made sense to try Ino's idea, but they wouldn't have a clue where to start looking. And even if they did, they couldn't leave the inn while the sick were still migrating to it. Rokuda and the nurses wouldn't be able to handle the workload on their own.

"That's a good idea," Sakura said, "But we'd need to recruit some help for that. We shouldn't leave the inn until we're sure Rokuda can handle it."

"Let's go ask Rokuda if she knows anything about patient zero," Ino suggested.

They found Rokuda in the lobby, behind the counter. She looked much worse than she had when Sakura first arrived. Her skin was sallow and pale and her eyes had deep purple bags underneath them.

Her eyes lit up when she saw them approaching and Sakura felt almost guilty for the glimmer of hope she saw flash across her face.

"Did you make a breakthrough?" she asked with barely restrained excitement.

"Not quite," Sakura said quietly. Ino shook her head mutely.

Rokuda sighed softly, her disappointment obvious and a little annoying to Sakura. Sakura couldn't really blame the woman. She had hired an elite medical ninja from the champion of medical jutsu herself and had nothing to show for it. It had been a month now, and there was no cure in sight.

"We want to know if you have any information about patient zero," Ino said before Sakura could get too introspective, "Maybe if we know more about where the infection originated from we can figure out a way to prevent it."

Rokuda pursed her lips. "The very first person I treated was a woman from a town several days north of here. She said her husband had been sick first," she explained, "and that she sought out a healer after he had died."

"Why didn't she try to find a healer before," Sakura asked, "while her husband was still sick?"

"She said she didn't think that it was that bad," Rokuda answered, "that the symptoms didn't seem that serious. It wasn't until he was bedridden that she thought something was really wrong."

"Where is she now?" Ino asked, but they all already knew the answer to that.

"I'm sure her body was burned in the pyre."

"And the town she came from?" Sakura asked, "Was that the first you'd heard of the infection?"

Rokuda nodded, "Yes, it's barely even a town. Just a general goods store and an inn, really."

"I've been there," Sakura said, remember the three sisters she had met there.

"Yeah, me too," Ino said, "Do you think it's worth going to check it out?"

Sakura tapped her finger against her lips. At this point anything was worth a try. Anything that could give them a potential lead would be worth it. She could handle the inn on her own for a while.

"Why don't you go investigate, Ino?" Sakura suggested, "I'll stay here and keep working on a cure and taking care of the inn. You go find out what you can and report back as soon as you can."

Ino grinned, "You can count on me."

.

Ino left early the next morning with an empty journal to fill up with her sleuthing and an eager grin on her face.

Sakura wished that she felt as excited as Ino did. She couldn't say that she anticipated much from Ino's investigation. That left her to her own devices, working on a cure.

Between healing the sick that wandered in and doing what little research she could that hadn't already been done, Sakura was actually bored. It was a sickening feeling, knowing that people were depending on her and she was decidedly out of things to do.

She tried to continue her search for a cure, but reading the same words, seeing the same slides under the microscope only seemed to stress her out more. She had completely given up on being productive in her research and instead refocused all of her attention on the sick people who still wandered into the inn.

She was surprised by the fact that there were still no recently infected people in town, but she supposed that most of the people who fell ill didn't bother to seek help until their symptoms had reached a more serious state.

It really annoyed the medic in her that people chose to live their lives that way. Even her own teammates would wait until the last possible second to go get their health issues checked out. It was almost as if they feared going to the hospital more than they feared whatever potentially catastrophic thing could happen as a result of ignoring the problem. A sword wound through the chest? No problem. A little needle? Better run for the hills.

After Sakura had spent as much time as she could with the few people who remained in the inn (delegated into their own rooms now, instead of crowded in cots lined up in the lobby), she decided a nice long walk would clear her head.

River Country was far more beautiful than Sakura had ever given it credit for. The grass was thick and lush and _soft_ , she thought. The leaves looked greener and everything seemed to be more alive. She followed the path of a river, watching as salmon sporadically jumped out of the water.

Sakura was no stranger to the outdoors. She had her fair share of missions that left her essentially camping outside for weeks at a time. Maybe it was the fact that for a month she had been cooped up inside an inn with stale, sick air, but something about being outside made Sakura feel more alive than she had felt in weeks.

A shrill cry in the distance snapped Sakura to attention. It sounded young – like a child. She darted off in the direction of the sound, masking her chakra just in case.

When she neared three figures that appeared to have been where to noise came from, Sakura stealthily leapt into a nearby tree and crouched low on a high branch, scouting the area.

There were two children and a man sitting in the grass. Sakura noted that no one appeared to be in any danger, and that the trio in fact looked quite amicable. The two children were taking turns pinching each other while the man, whose back was to her, watched.

Relieved, Sakura was about to jump down from the branch and release the mask on her chakra when the man turned and she caught sight of his face. The familiarity almost caused he to tumble out of the tree, but she kept a sure grip on the branch underneath her.

Sasuke?

No, that wasn't Sasuke. He was older. His hair was longer, his eyes darker. It was a face that she had seen only once before, but she would have recognized it anywhere.

It was Itachi.


	4. Chapter 4

Itachi wasn't used to such talkative company and it was starting to take a toll on him. They had been back on the road for a couple of days now and would reach Toyeiki by the end of the day, at least.

Yamato and Sachi chattered incessantly, bickering back and forth, asking him questions – the most common of which was _are we there yet?_ in a cadence that Itachi had come to loathe like a song that played too often on the radio.

In some ways, he enjoyed their company. They were bright children, smart and always asking questions. Sachi had grown quite obviously fond of Itachi and spent the majority of her time cajoling him into carrying her, or slipping her tiny hand into his while they walked side by side. Yamato seemed to regard him as some type of hero, a reverence in his eyes when he looked at him. The irony was not lost on Itachi.

He was almost sad to think about leaving them soon. Of course Itachi was in no position to be taking care of children, and he couldn't even say for sure that he would be good at it. He'd be lying to himself if he thought he never wanted to have children. Before the massacre, Itachi was heir. It was his responsibility to have children. He'd always looked at Sasuke as a kind of practice for that, and now…

Well, now Yamato and Sachi were the closest he would ever get to that.

"Quit pinching me!"

Itachi pinched the bridge of his nose and glanced over at the shrieking children. He was certain he had never fought so much with Sasuke. Sasuke was much too fond of his elder brother to ever have caused trouble the way Sachi sometimes did for Yamato. She was currently sinking her teeth deep into the delicate skin of Yamato's wrist.

"Alright, why don't we take a break?" Itachi suggested.

"I'm hungry, Itachi-san," Sachi said, running over to tug on his sleeve. Apparently her brother's arm wasn't quite filling enough. Itachi pulled a couple of protein bars from his pouch and handed one to each child.

They plopped themselves down in the grass, munching happily, _quietly_ , Itachi noted with relief. He sat down next to them and let his eyes fall shut.

It would be bittersweet, he thought, being rid of the children. He wouldn't miss the bickering and the whining. Or cleaning urine out of bed sheets.

A rustle of leaves in the distance perked up Itachi's ears. The wind was too light to have made the sound. He strained his ears, listening for voices that would identify them as civilians, or a noise that an animal might make.

But there was nothing. Which meant he was being watched. Itachi cursed.

Sachi gasped, "Itachi-san said a bad word!"

Itachi shushed the girl and quickly scooped her up just as a kunai whizzed past his head. Itachi knew that there were people out there who hurt children – who wanted to hurt children, that is. But he couldn't fathom anyone wanting to harm these particular children, especially since they obviously had a guardian with them. Even most bad guys had a heart – he was somewhat proof of that.

"Wait," Itachi said to the attacker, though it was hardly audible, the sound catching in his throat. He spun around, pinwheel eyes spinning dangerously.

But he wasn't prepared for the sight of a pink-haired waif of a girl, twirling a kunai around her long fingers like she was the deadliest kunoichi in existence. Itachi could have laughed if he had not been struck by a cold shock of fear that reached all the way down to his toes.

He knew this girl. This was Sasuke's teammate, the kyuubi's teammate. She was a medic-nin, he heard. She had killed Sasori, which he had found quite impressive upon hearing the news. She was the Hokage's apprentice.

Oh, this was very bad.

"Sakura Haruno," he said, his voice smooth, not indicative at all of the swirl of fear that raged inside him.

Her face was hard, much too hard for the delicate body, the feminine hair, he thought. She was like a peacock, strutting about with colorful feathers. He could easily kill her. He could incapacitate her with his Tsukiyomi. He could possibly even outrun her, but that would be difficult to do with the children. Not to mention, he would have to run further away from Toyeiki in order to lose her.

It's better to wait, he thought, to see what her plan was. Surely she knew she couldn't kill him on her own. He certainly didn't want to have to kill her.

"Step away from the children," she said, her tone low, authoritative in a way he hadn't expected from someone so _pink_. It reminded him of his mother.

Ah, he thought, she must have some stellar motherly instincts to try to stand up to one of the most feared men in Konoha to save some children she didn't know.

"Itachi-san, is she an enemy?" Yamato asked, peeking around Itachi's legs to get a better look at this mysterious pink-haired woman.

"Is she going to hurt us?" Sachi asked, her voice so small that he felt himself pulling her closer against his chest to comfort her.

"No." Itachi said. He didn't know whether he was speaking to Sakura or the children, but it didn't matter. The answer was the same.

Sakura's brow furrowed in confusion, and Itachi almost berated her for letting her face show so much about what she was thinking. It wasn't what a good shinobi would do.

"What are you doing with them?" she asked, and her voice was trembling now. She was afraid and confused, he could tell. She should be, he thought. But that didn't quell the sudden urge to calm her down that bubbled up in his stomach. She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. He had no desire to hurt her, but he couldn't tell her that.

"They are orphans," he said slowly, keeping his eyes fixed on her, "I'm taking them to an orphanage in Toyeiki."

She swallowed hard and Itachi forced himself not to let his eyes linger on her incredibly pale throat. "Toyeiki is… it's in shambles. Everyone is sick. You can't take them there," she said.

He had heard, obviously, that Toyeiki was a kind of safe-haven for those who had been infected by a highly contagious disease that had been ravaging the southern parts of Fire and River country for over a month now.

But it was his only option.

"Where did you find them?"

He let his eyes narrow at her, aware of the terrifying effect it seemed to have on most people. Predictably, she withered under his gaze.

"It's none of your concern," he answered coolly.

Sachi began crying in his shoulder, her tears hotly soaking into his cloak, making it stick to his skin. Absently, he reached up and stroked her hair soothingly. He wondered too late whether the image of him soothing a crying little girl would sully the fear and discomfort he had worked so diligently to instill in the pink-haired woman several meters away.

Next to him, Yamato reached into Itachi's pouch and pulled out a kunai. Itachi huffed in amusement.

"Don't worry, Itachi-san," he said, his voice determined, "I got this."

He charged toward Sakura, who watched with bemusement until he was close enough for her to catch his wrist and twist it back behind his back.

"Ow, ow," he screeched, "Itachi-san, she's hurting me! Help!"

Itachi's eyes flicked to hers, noting that there was a hint of mirth there. She crouched down to his eye level and released his arm.

"Looks like you need some more practice," she told him, handing him back Itachi's kunai, "Or maybe you just need a better teacher."

Itachi couldn't help the quirk of his brows at the quip. He hadn't expected her to say something so brazen about him while he was standing right there. Maybe the image of him soothing a crying little girl _did_ sully the fear and discomfort he had worked so diligently to instill in her.

It appeared that she no longer feared him enough to keep her eyes trained on him, which Itachi thought was a stupid mistake on her part. But watching her ruffle Yamato's hair with affection was distracting him from what he should be doing – which was coming up with an escape plan.

"Itachi-san is the best ninja in the whole world!" Yamato exclaimed, defending his teacher's honor.

"Yes, that might be true," Sakura agreed, raising her eyes up to meet Itachi's. He was transfixed for a second by the brightness of her eyes. They were so green, so wide. He thought with an unfamiliar jealousy that Sakura would nearly always have the tactical advantage of people underestimating her. He didn't know why that bothered him so much.

"It _is_ true," Yamato insisted, "And he's gonna kill you for hurting me."

"No," Itachi said, startling them both, "I'm not."

Sakura's eyes widened, if that were even possible, and she locked onto his eyes again. Uncomfortable with the prolonged eye contact, Itachi looked down at Yamato.

"Get behind me," he said.

"I'm not going to hurt him," Sakura said, taking a tone that clearly indicated that she was offended, "I wouldn't hurt a child."

"I'd expect nothing less from a Konoha-nin," he replied.

She narrowed her eyes at him, no doubt letting her thoughts about what rights he had to speak about Konoha spin out of control. He could see the outrage plain on her face, curling her fists into tight balls at her sides. Once again, he thought she could benefit from learning to hide her emotions better, but more than that he wished he had just kept his mouth shut.

"If it's alright with you," Itachi began, "I'd like to continue on my way."

It was the easiest way out he could think of, and probably the most peaceful. There wasn't much she could do to stop him unless she engaged him in a fight, which he hoped she was smart enough not to do.

He didn't wait for her to answer before taking Yamato's hand in his and brushing past her. He was careful not to get too close to her.

She moved toward him, quickly, aggressively, but not like an attack. Itachi thanked whatever gods might be listening that he had the Sharingan because he could see that she meant to stop him with a firm hand to his chest. If he had been anyone else – if he had not had the Sharingan at his disposal, he would have had no choice but to attack her.

But if she thought he was going to let her touch him, she was dead wrong. Even he knew what a medic-nin could do with a single touch. He was no fool.

Dropping Sachi into her brother, Itachi moved with incredible speed and pushed Sakura against the trunk of a nearby tree. He pinned her arms above her head with one hand and squeezed her hip tightly in his other, pushing her torso into the tree. From the way she winced he could tell it must have been painful.

She trembled against him and he could see her pulse beating wildly underneath the thin skin of her neck – the second time he caught himself staring at her throat.

"Don't make me kill you," he threatened, and he really did not like the way his voice sounded – so dangerous, so low.

He really didn't want to have to kill her, but the more he thought about it, the more it seemed like the best option. If he let her live, she would certainly send word to the Hokage that a rogue Akatsuki member was traipsing about southern River Country with random kids – one of which was wearing what was obviously his shirt.

"Get her, Itachi-san!" Yamato cheered behind him.

And then a wave of dizziness washed over him. He felt… woozy? Was that the right word? He felt nauseous in a way his autoimmune disease had never made him feel and he had a feeling that the pills in his pocket would do nothing to help this time.

He looked at Sakura, searching her face to see if it would give him any indication of what she had just done to him. He could have sworn that she wouldn't be able to perform any kind of jutsu without the use of her hands.

To his surprise, she looked just as shocked as he felt, and then her face changed, shifted to something more – eager? Well, that couldn't be good.

And then his vision began to blur. In an effort to dispel the blurriness, he deactivated his Sharingan – something he really didn't want to have to do while he held a woman prisoner with his bare hands, but the sensations swirling around in his head and stomach were almost too much to bear. He felt as though any second he would lose the strength to stand and topple over.

"Are you dizzy?" Sakura asked, and luckily for Itachi, his hearing was just as fine as ever – he heard the unmistakable tone of a doctor in her voice, clinical, no-nonsense.

He released her hands, but kept his grip tight on her hip, digging his fingers into her hipbone in a tacit warning. As soon as he released them they were on his chest, lit with a glowing green chakra.

This was really, really not good. If she found out about his disease (and why the hell wouldn't the famed number one medic-nin in the world find an obvious disease?) would she tell Sasuke? Would that even matter? He was completely at her mercy now. Her hands were on his chest.

His vision was now nearly gone, the world nothing but a swirl of color, of pink, predominantly. He felt her ease him to the ground and lay his body in the grass. It was much too gentle for someone who was supposed to be his enemy.

"No!" he heard Yamato yell, "Don't kill him!" Sachi had begun to cry again, loudly this time, and the sound made his chest tighten painfully.

"I'm not going to kill him," Sakura said. He felt her chakra sink into him and it was a strange, but not unpleasant sensation. He wished he could see her clearly, as if maybe he could see in her face why she wouldn't want to kill a man that had caused her and her teammates so much grief and had killed his entire family and had aligned himself with a terrorist organization after abandoning his home.

But the ball of nausea in his stomach was churning like a raging sea and his head was suddenly pounding. He found himself craving the cooling sensation of Sakura's chakra, hoping it would invade more of him and relieve him of all this discomfort.

And that was when everything went black.

.

When Itachi came to he was surprised to find that he was still lying in the grass, which meant that he couldn't have been out for too long. He blinked his eyes blearily against the setting sun and decided to keep them closed when another wave of nausea washed over him.

He could hear Sachi giggling nearby, punctuated by an occasional loud, snapping sound.

"Now do this one," he heard Yamato say, "You'll never be able to break it. It's so big!"

Groggily, Itachi forced himself to sit up and blinked his eyes open just in time to see Sakura holding a massive tree branch – easily two feet wide and nearly as tall as she was – and snapping it in half.

"Amazing!" Yamato said, clapping. Sachi burst into another bout of giggles, looking up at Sakura with awe.

Itachi attempted to stand up, but it seemed his dizziness had not yet faded and he groaned against the sensation of falling and swimming and tilting. Sakura was at his side in a second, her hands green with chakra again, pressing them against his chest. He made no attempt to stop her this time.

"Be careful, Uchiha-san," she said and his brow furrowed immediately in confusion. She was watching him with her clinical eyes, running chakra through his body. He could feel it everywhere in him this time, like his veins were flowing with it.

"It's purely diagnostic," she said, noticing his alarm, "I'm just checking to see if everything is alright."

He knocked her hands away and pushed himself up against the tree behind him – the same one he had restrained Sakura against – and let his back fall roughly against it.

They stared at one another for a moment, both unsure of what to do next. The silence was tense, but Itachi could tell that Sakura was tempering her behavior, waiting to see what he would do next.

"Uchiha-san?" Itachi asked, his voice raspier than he would have liked.

Sakura blushed a deep red that clashed horribly with her hair and ducked her head. "I'm sorry, I don't really know how I should address you. I was erring on the side of caution."

In spite of the situation, Itachi was amused – charmed, even – by her change in demeanor. "Do you always address your enemies so formally?" he asked.

If she understood that he was teasing her, she didn't let on.

"I want to make a deal with you."

He stopped himself from raising his brows in question and kept his gaze squarely on her. He was surprised, to say the least, and wondered what she could possibly want from someone like him.

From the corner of his eye, he could see Yamato and Sachi nearby. He had half expected them to be bickering, but it seemed that they were both waiting to hear what Itachi would say.

"Go on," he said.

He watched Sakura take deep breath as if steeling herself against an anticipated resistance.

"I'm sure you've realized that you're sick," she began, "I mean not with – you're sick with the same infection that the rest of Toyeiki is plagued by."

Ah, so she had realized that he had an autoimmune disease.

"I'm currently on a medical mission to find a cure for it," she continued, "and I've been having quite a lot of trouble so far."

That news certainly surprised him. It was his understanding that Toyeiki was where people came to get healed. What made it such a safe-haven if they were all coming here to die?

"I think you can help me find a cure."

Itachi huffed and fixed her with a pointed look, "I don't know anything about curing infections."

"No, that's not what I meant," she said, "You've been recently infected. So far, every person I've treated has been sick for at least a week. I need to study the early stages of the infection to get a better idea of how to deal with it. You're the first person I've seen that I would be able to study it from."

The sudden implications of what was surely about to happen caught Itachi off guard. He knew the infection was fatal if left untreated. The children's mother had died from it, and their father would have as well had he and Kisame not intervened.

He already had to worry about his autoimmune disease – an infection on top of that would definitely be fatal. He couldn't imagine a scenario where he survived it. He felt a surge of panic catch in his throat like a burning lump.

Sasuke.

He'd never get to see his brother again – never get to let him get the revenge he deserved.

"You're also the only person I've seen infected that is able to use chakra," Sakura added, obvious to his inner turmoil, "But I think that might be due to your pre-existing condition."

The words barely registered to Itachi, who felt himself gasping for air and then coughing violently. His lungs – he couldn't get enough air in them. He felt hot – too hot to be natural, and he felt beads of sweat forming along his brow.

Sakura knelt down next to him and pressed the back of her hand to his forehead. "Calm down," she said, "Try to take deep breaths."

He felt her cooling chakra flood into his system again and he was beginning to familiarize himself with the sensation – welcome it, even.

"My medicine," he choked out, "In my pocket."

Sakura blinked at him in surprise, probably not expecting him to have shared something so personal with her, but it was necessary, he figured. He could die here under a tree with a pink-haired medic hovering over him, or he could trust that she could help him.

She reached into his pocket and pulled out the orange pill bottle. She shook a single pill out into his hand and watched as he swallowed it dry.

"Are you okay, Itachi-san?" Yamato asked. The children had both clustered near him under the tree, one on each side of Sakura.

Itachi felt overwhelmed, claustrophobic with the three of them so close.

But then Sachi leaned over and curled herself into his lap, looking at him with wide worried eyes that reminded him of Sasuke's. He placed his palm over her head and smoothed her hair, waiting for the burning in his lungs to pass.

If Sakura had not been there, he would have closed his eyes and enjoyed the moment. He knew his time with the children was coming to an end, and if he was honest with himself, he would miss Sachi the most for the way she was so physically affectionate.

"Maybe we should give him some space," Sakura suggested.

"The deal," Itachi said before she stood up, "What are the conditions?"

He watched her look down at Sachi in his lap and then at Yamato before meeting his gaze again, "I need to study blood samples from you. If you agree to help me find a cure for this infection, I will heal you completely – I can even fix your autoimmune disease."

The shock must have been evident on his face.

"I'm very good at what I do, Uchiha-san," she said with a cocky grin, "I realize others might have told you that it's untreatable, but I assure you that I'm capable of fixing it."

Itachi chose not to comment on that. He didn't quite believe her, but if she could get rid of the infection, that would be enough for him.

"Is that all?" he asked.

Her face dropped for a second before he saw a cautious expression dawn on her features. "One more thing," she said, "If you promise not to hurt me or anyone else in Toyeiki, I will take Yamato and Sachi back to Konoha with me when I'm done here. Yamato wants to be a ninja and is old enough to join the Academy."

If Itachi had been the expressive type, he would have grinned. He had never planned on hurting her anyway. This solved his problem perfectly. He could be sure that the children would be safe with Sakura, and if everything worked out like she was suggesting, he would leave here a perfectly healthy man.

Except he still had the pesky issue of needing to be back in Rain, like _now._

"How long would this take?" he asked, still holding Sachi close to his chest, "I have somewhere that I need to be."

Sakura blanched, but made no comment about where it is he might need to be – specifically whether or not it involved either of her teammates.

"I've got a partner re-joining me soon – probably within the next week, so I'd like to have you gone by then," she said, "It would be hard to explain your presence, obviously."

He nodded in response, but said nothing else.

"So, do we have a deal, Uchiha-san?"

"We have a deal."

She stuck her hand out him and he took it with a firm shake.

.

Sakura led her new companions back to Toyeiki, insisting that they take the long way around so she could get a little bit of fresh air.

Itachi had never been a medic-nin and had no idea what usually went on during missions like her current one, but he imagined that she had been confined mostly to where the sick people were. It didn't sound enjoyable at all so he didn't protest too much when she decided to meander about before going back.

He kept up the rear, never letting his eye wander too far from Sakura. They might have come to a sort of truce, but she was still an enemy. She had fallen in step with Yamato, who had taken a liking to her. She was talking to him, laughing at the silly things he told her, but Itachi knew that she was keeping a close eye on him as well – or rather, a listening ear instead.

Logistically, Itachi wasn't sure how he could possibly handle this situation without lending a certain amount of trust to Sakura. He would be almost entirely at her mercy – a position he certainly didn't want to be in.

But if he was truly as sick as she claimed (and he had no reason not to believe her), then he would need her help.

In spite of himself, he felt comforted by the fact that Sakura seemed to be fond of the children. She would see their needs met – he wouldn't expect anything less from her.

So it seemed like trusting her was the best option.

"Alright," Sakura said to Yamato, using a tone that reminded Itachi of his mother once again, "Now we're almost to Toyeiki. When we get there, I'm going to lay down some ground rules for you. But first, you and your sister need a bath. And when was the last time you had a proper meal? You've been on the road for some time, I imagine. You're both looking a little thin."

"I'm not thin!" Yamato said with a pout, "I'm big and strong like Itachi-san."

Sakura tilted her head back and laughed, "Don't be silly!" she said, " _Itachi-san_ " – Itachi winced at her mocking inflection – "is big and strong because he trains hard. You need to train hard too, if you want to be like him. But first, you need a good wash behind the ears and a bowl of ramen."

Itachi was careful to avoid eye contact with her, which was easy enough to do while walking behind her. If their conversation continued in the direction of how _big and strong_ he was he would have to put an end to it.

"Ramen! That's my favorite!" Yamato exclaimed.

"Is it, now?" Sakura asked, and Itachi could tell from her voice that she was smiling, "It's one of my favorites, too."

Sakura paused and turned back to face Itachi, who was carrying Sachi on his back, "What about you, Sachi-chan?" She asked, "What's your favorite food?"

Sachi merely buried her face into the back of Itachi's neck, ignoring the question completely. Itachi didn't want to admit it – even to himself – but he was the tiniest bit happy to know that Sachi hadn't quite warmed up to Sakura yet.

Yamato, on the other hand, was smitten. "Don't worry, Sakura-san," he said, sliding his small hand into hers, "She's just shy."

Sakura glanced back at Itachi, catching his eye briefly before she turned back toward Toyeiki.


	5. Chapter 5

The initial shock of being escorted back to Toyeiki by the deranged and genocidal older brother of her former teammate had worn off by the time they strolled into the inn that evening.

The sun had just dipped below the horizon and what little activity that was still happening in town had died down. Sakura feared that she might have to sneak Itachi into the inn should they come across anyone who might recognize him, but they encountered no one – even in the lobby of the inn.

"The place is a little empty right now," Sakura said, "I've been healing people as they come in and they've been coming in waves. Hopefully it'll stay empty for a while so I can get some work done."

Sakura led them upstairs to the room closest to hers, "Your kids can stay in this room." The room had two beds and ten cots folded and lined against the wall. It was clear that the room had contained children recently as the walls were covered with crayon drawings pinned up by the nurses and forgotten toys were scattered around the floor.

"Uchiha-san," Sakura said, leaning to the other side of the hallway and flinging open the adjacent door, "You can stay in this room."

"Call me Itachi, please," he said.

Itachi had barely spoken on their way to Toyeiki, and hearing his voice startled Sakura and made her feel a bit uneasy, almost like she had forgotten who he was. She felt a cold wash of fear sink into her again and she shook it away with a shiver.

Was she in her right mind? Had she really brought an S-class criminal in for potentially an entire week to study him?

"The formality seems wrong, doesn't it?"

Boy, was that an understatement. Sakura suddenly had a list of Itachi's grievances spring to mind and the urge to read them back to him angrily swept over her. She could feel them practically spilling from her lips already. Here was a man who had committed more heinous atrocities than she could even imagine, caused more pain and heartbreak for the people she cared about and he was standing in front of her with the audacity to suggest that she should change the way she addressed him?

"Itachi-san would be fine, too, I suppose," he said, his voice measured. Her lack of response seemed to annoy him, but he seemed wise enough not to comment on it.

"Right," Sakura said, slowly coming back to her senses, "Itachi-san." The name tasted like poison on her tongue.

She turned back to Yamato still standing in the doorway behind her, "Let's get you guys a hot bath." She turned to Itachi and reached her arms out to take Sachi from him, "And we need to get you a change of clothes."

"No!" she shrieked, her voice echoing down the empty hallway. She retracted her hands and watched as Itachi shushed her and rocked her on his hip.

Yamato pulled at her shirt, "Maybe it would be better to let Itachi-san give her a bath instead," he suggested.

Sakura blanched and let her gaze fall on what was clearly Itachi's shirt bunched up around Sachi's hips, "I'm not sure that's entirely appropriate…"

"No, Sakura will give her a bath," Itachi insisted. He pried Sachi away from his side and held her out for Sakura to take. She began kicking and shrieking even louder this time, determined not to be held by the pink-haired medic.

Itachi set her down on the ground and knelt down next to her. Sakura noticed the hard set of his face, the way his eyes brooked no room for argument. She would have found it comical had it been any other person – he could definitely be intimidating when he wanted to be, and he had toned it down for the toddler in front of him.

"Sachi, calm down," he said, "Sakura is not an enemy and she will not hurt you. Let her give you a bath."

Sakura hadn't expected that to work so easily, but immediately Sachi turned to Sakura and extended her hand. Sakura took it and threw a pointed glance up at Itachi. She took Yamato's hand in her free one and pulled them into her room, shutting the door behind her

.

After each child was given a hot, scouring bath and a bowl of ramen from the kitchens, Sakura brought them back to their room. She tugged down at the hem of Sachi's new dress (well, new to her) as she pushed the door open and was surprised to find Itachi in the room.

It looked like he had cleaned up, straightening the linens on the beds, scooping the toys into a neat pile by the window, and wiping away any dust that had settled in the absence of patients.

Sakura wanted to make a snide remark about it – she had planned on cleaning up after dinner – but she chose to let it go.

"I'm surprised you had the energy to do all this," she said instead, careful to keep her tone neutral, "But I'm glad you're here now. I think it's time to go over some ground rules with the children."

Itachi nodded and took a seat at the end of the nearest bed. Sachi climbed down Sakura and ran to sit in his lap. Sakura huffed, teetering between amused and annoyed. Of all the people for a young girl to be infatuated with…

Sakura pulled herself up onto the opposite bed and patted the spot next to her. Yamato obligingly hopped up beside her and waited patiently for her to speak. She didn't miss the way Itachi's eyebrows shot up in surprise. Maybe Yamato hadn't been as well-behaved for him, she thought.

"Alright," Sakura began, "Rule number one. Neither of you are allowed to leave this room unless either Itachi or me is with you. Got it?"

Both children nodded.

"Good. Rule number two. There will be no screaming or yelling or any loud noise-making of any kind. There are many people here who are sick and are trying to recover. Understood?"

They nodded again.

"And rule three. You are not to enter the room at the end of the hall right here," Sakura said, "That's my office and there are lots of dangerous things in there. I don't want you to get hurt."

The children nodded in tandem.

"Good," she said, smiling, "Itachi-san, is there anything you'd like to add?"

"No," he answered.

"Alright then," she said, clapping her hands together with finality, "Let's get you guys into bed."

"I'm not tired yet, Sakura-san," Yamato said through a yawn.

"Of course you aren't, Yamato-chan," she said, pulling the covers up around his shoulders, "But if you want to be big and strong like Itachi-san, you have to get a good night's sleep."

Yamato acquiesced and snuggled down into his bed. Sakura ruffled his hair affectionately and turned to tuck Sachi in only to find that Itachi had already done it. He stood over her bed, watching her with an expression Sakura couldn't quite pinpoint.

"Itachi-san?"

His eyes snapped up to her.

"I'd like to run a few tests now, if you're up for it."

"Of course."

.

Itachi, like most people, was not a fan of being stuck with a needle. Or maybe it was the fact that it was an enemy doing the sticking, but Sakura couldn't help but notice the tense way he watched her.

He was sitting on the bed in his room, rigidly like he was expecting her to attack at any moment.

"I'm not going to attack you, Itachi-san," she said, not bothering to hide the irritation that tickled her chest, "It would be counter-productive to my mission."

Itachi said nothing, keeping his eyes trained forward.

"So, Sachi seems to really like you."

He didn't answer.

"What do you have to do to earn the blind trust of a little girl like that?"

Sakura withered under the scouring gaze he threw at her. She knew better than to poke the bear – especially _this_ bear – but there was something about his relationship with the little girl that didn't sit well with Sakura.

"How much longer will this take?" Itachi asked, his voice restrained.

"I'm almost done," she said wearily, letting her glowing hands fall to his chest again. She let her chakra flow through him and noticed that he was resisting her less and less. He almost seemed to welcome her chakra.

Delving deeper, Sakura realized that he was probably in a lot of pain. His lungs were in poor condition, filled with blood. His throat was raw from coughing too much. His immune system was already in shambles and now he had to suffer through this mysterious infection on top of it all.

She set to work healing some of the damage in his lungs – not too much of it, she still needed her bargaining chip. Itachi visibly relaxed, letting the tension melt from his shoulders.

"She wet the bed," Itachi said, pulling her out of her own thoughts.

She paused and looked up at his face.

"I didn't bring any extra clothes for her, so I had to give her my shirt."

Oh. Well, she certainly hadn't been expecting that. The thought of Sachi tugging on Itachi's sleeve after having wet the bed amused her thoroughly, but she wisely decided against laughing.

Sakura pulled her hands away from him and collected the syringes and bottles from his bedside table and tucked them back into her medkit.

"Thank you for your cooperation, Itachi-san," she said, "I'll check in with you again in the morning. Try to get some rest."

.

Sakura tossed and turned for the better part of the night. Itachi had given her no indication that he was going to harm her – quite the opposite in fact. It just felt too strange to fall asleep with a known enemy on the other side of the wall. She wondered if he was sleeping – if he felt weird about being around her as well.

After a couple hours of restlessness, Sakura flicked the lights on and moved over to her desk where she started analyzing the samples she had retrieved from Itachi. If she wasn't able to sleep, she could at least be doing something productive.

It was tedious work and Itachi's samples looked much like the other samples she had been staring at for a month. She had hoped that finding someone with a recent infection would give her the clarity she needed or lead to a breakthrough.

After a few hours of searching, Sakura found that she had been right about Itachi's autoimmune disease being the reason he contracted the disease in spite of his capability with chakra. The weakness of his immune system left him extremely vulnerable to an infection like this one. The state of his body shocked her – he could die at any moment, really. His organs were slowly failing and his body was no longer able to fight off bacteria. She was surprised he was still alive at all. How long had he been living like this?

And she had promised to heal him. Completely.

She blinked rapidly, getting her eyes adjusted after having spent so much time looking under the microscope. How could she broach a topic like this with him? How would he react to her not being able to hold up her end of the bargain? Would he get violent?

A knock at the door startled her.

"Sakura-san?"

It was just Rokuda. Sakura let out a sigh of relief.

"Come in," she called, turning back to her microscope.

She heard the door open and then shut again.

"I see you amassed a few new patients," Rokuda said.

"Oh," Sakura said, "Yes, I meant to tell you. The man in the adjacent room has been recently infected. You don't need to keep an eye out for that anymore. I'm looking over his samples now."

Rokuda hummed thoughtfully.

"And the room across from him has a couple of kids," Sakura continued, "They aren't sick, but they were traveling with him."

"Sakura-san, I came up here to tell you that Kira left yesterday," Rokuda said, her voice laced with a bitter sadness, "I tried to stop her, but she kept talking on and on about how she wanted to see the world. She didn't seem to care at all that we really need her here."

Sakura pondered this information for a moment, still fixated on the sample beneath the microscope. Kira hadn't been anything special in terms of medical jutsu. She was just an extra helping hand.

"And what about Amika?" Sakura asked.

"She's still here for now," Rokuda answered, "But I think she wants to follow in Kira's footsteps soon. Before this epidemic both of them were going to move to Cloud together. I don't think they ever intended on being nurses. At least not like this."

Sakura swiveled away from her microscope and gave Rokuda a weak smile, "Rokuda-san, I owe you an apology. This is taking a lot longer than we promised it would. I'm sorry that we under-delivered."

"We are just grateful for your help, Sakura-san."

"Don't worry about losing Kira," Sakura said, turning back to her desk, "We'll manage without her. The worst part is over."

.

Late in the morning, Sakura peeked into the children's room to find them sleeping soundly. It was a wonder they managed to sleep so late, but Sakura guessed they must have been exhausted from all the traveling they had been doing.

She shut the door with a barely audible click and reached back for the handle of her own door when her hand collided with something warm and hard. She pulled her arm back to her chest and spun to face Itachi who appeared not to care that she had just smacked him in the torso.

"How are the children?" he asked.

"They're sleeping," she answered, her guard up after having been sneaked up on, "And you should be too."

"I'm hungry," he said, and Sakura wished that her voice was always as steady as his seemed to be.

"You know where the kitchens are," she replied with an annoyed tone. Was he really asking her to make breakfast for him?

"I don't know where they are," Itachi answered, his tone infuriatingly neutral again, "And I wasn't sure if it was wise to walk about freely. There might be someone here who could recognize me."

"Fine," Sakura said with a huff, "I'll get some breakfast for you."

Like a petulant child, Sakura stomped her feet as she started down the hallway, but paused when she felt Itachi's slender fingers wrap around her upper arm. She swung around to face him, to yell at him for touching her.

"If it is a problem, I will go myself," Itachi said, cutting her off before she could try to retaliate, "I don't want to inconvenience you."

"Is that sarcasm?"

"No."

They stared at one another for a moment before Itachi's stomach growled loudly. She looked up at his face to catch any embarrassment she might find pinkening his cheeks, but to her disappointment he appeared as cool and collected as ever.

"Let me show you where the kitchens are," she said with her best attempt at nonchalance.

.

Itachi didn't wait for permission before he began pulling pots and pans out of the cabinets and wrestling food out of the refrigerator. Sakura watched with mouth agape as Itachi began cutting up vegetables with dexterity only a ninja could possess.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, glancing up from the cutting board.

"I didn't peg you at the cooking type," she replied with a furrowed brow, "It doesn't seem like something you'd be good at."

"You don't know me," Itachi replied, and even though his tone didn't sound condescending or cruel in any way, Sakura felt herself bristling.

"I know you killed your entire clan. I know you tortured your little brother. I know that you and the rest of Akatsuki are planning on killing my best friend and doing god-knows-what with all the tailed-beasts," Sakura said, her voice growing louder with each word, "So yeah, it feels a little weird to throw _good at cooking_ into the mix of things I already know about you."

Itachi set his knife down and braced himself against the counter in front of him, staring down at the cutting board. A beat of silence filled the room, tense and overwhelming. Sakura could feel her heartbeat up in her throat.

She didn't wait for him to respond before she left, slamming the door behind her.

.

A short while later, Sakura was interrupted from her studies by the sound of two children screaming.

In a panic, Sakura leapt from her chair and darted into their room to see what was the matter. She rolled her eyes when she saw the two siblings rolling around on the floor, pinching and biting one another.

"Knock it off," Sakura said in a tone much too casual, not quite authoritative enough, "Remember rule number two."

The children continued their scuffle in spite of Sakura's warning until she grabbed each of them by the collar and yanked them away from one another.

"Yamato-chan," Sakura said, "You're not acting very much like a ninja right now. Would a ninja attack his sister?"

"She started it!" he exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger at Sachi, "She was pulling my hair."

"That doesn't excuse your behavior," Sakura said, "Now go get washed up and I'll make you two some breakfast."

Yamato dutifully trotted off to wash up and Sakura pretended not to hear when he muttered under his breath about _stupid rules_ and _stupider sisters._

When he was gone, Sakura turned back to Sachi.

"You really shouldn't provoke him like that," Sakura said, smoothing out the girl's rumpled dress. She would need to go find her some proper sleep clothes today, if time permitted.

Sachi said nothing, but the protrusion of her lower lip told Sakura exactly what Sachi thought of the whole ordeal.

"Come on, let's go get washed up."

.

Sakura hadn't imagined it would be so hard to help two perfectly able bodied children brush their teeth and wash their faces – nor had she expected there to be so much whining during the process.

After twenty grueling minutes, Sakura took them down to the kitchens to get them some breakfast. She listened carefully as she passed Itachi's door, but she heard nothing – meaning he was either sleeping (unlikely) or he was still down in the kitchens.

And he was – scooping an omelet out of a pan and onto a plate.

"Itachi-san!"

Sachi ran over to Itachi and latched herself around his leg, grinning up at him with bright eyes. Sakura wondered if Sachi would love the man so much if she knew some of the atrocities he'd committed – if she was even capable of understanding them at such a young age.

"Sachi, I made you some breakfast," Itachi said, patting the girl atop the head. He actually looked down at her and smiled – a small smile, but a smile nonetheless. It was an expression she rarely saw on Sasuke and certainly had not expected to see on his older brother.

Sakura watched as he scooped her up and set her down at the head of the table and placed a plate full of food in front of her.

"I made some for you, too, Yamato," Itachi said, setting down another plate at the opposite end of the table. Yamato took his seat without so much as a thank you and began stuffing his face with food.

"I took the liberty of making some for you as well, Sakura-san," Itachi said, adding two more plates to the table, "Though I understand if you do not want it."

Sakura eyed the plated omelet suspiciously.

"It wouldn't do me any good to poison you, now would it?" Itachi said with just a hint of mirth in his voice, "Besides, I'd never risk accidentally poisoning Sachi or Yamato."

Apparently their earlier encounter had been forgotten. Or at least forgiven.

Sakura sat down at the table slowly, cautiously. Itachi took the seat across from her. The four ate in silence – well, save for the sounds of Sachi and Yamato inhaling food with gaping mouths.

"Itachi-san, can you teach me some cool ninja moves today?" Yamato asked as he chewed with his mouth open.

"He needs to rest today, Yamato-chan," Sakura said before Itachi had a chance to answer, "Maybe in a couple of days if he's feeling better."

"I'm feeling no worse than usual," Itachi said, "Aside from the dizzy spell yesterday, I haven't noticed many symptoms."

"The symptoms will get worse, Itachi-san," Sakura said, "You need to rest and let your body heal itself. It's going to be much harder with your condition."

"Is Itachi-san going to die like mama?"

Sakura was stunned by the question and turned to look at Sachi's wide, brimming eyes. If the moment hadn't been so somber, Sakura would have found to sight of her comical – dark curls flying about her head, eyes as large as Sakura had ever seen glittering with unshed tears, quivering lower lip.

"I'm not going to die," Itachi said with unmistakable certainty, "Sakura-san is the best medic-nin in the world. She is very capable."

Sakura eyed Itachi with disdain, miffed that he would mock her so openly and in front of the children. But when she looked back at Sachi she saw that the girl had blinked the tears away and pulled her lower lip back to its rightful place.

"Thank you, Sakura-san," she said in the tiniest voice Sakura had ever heard.

Sakura fixed her gaze on Itachi who was regarding her with… was it appreciation? It was hard to tell, but it was warm and unsettling.

"Oh, I thought I heard voices in here."

Sakura turned to the door and saw Amika holding an armful of linens. She hefted them up higher to get a better grip before dumping them in a nearby laundry cart. She wiped her brow with the back of her hand and smiled warmly at Sakura.

"I was just working on getting some of the bed clothes changed," she said, "Are these new patients of yours? I could have fed them for you."

"Eh, no," Sakura said, "Not exactly. Well, kind of."

Amika raised an inquisitive eyebrow.

"Itachi-san is my patient," Sakura said, waving her hand in the general direction of the Uchiha, "The kids are his companions."

Amika smiled prettily at Itachi and nodded her head, "Itachi-san, you're in good hands here."

He nodded to her, and resumed eating.

"So, Sakura-san," Amika said, pulling up a chair, "Is there anything you need help with today?"

Sakura nearly snorted, "You actually want to help me?"

But when she looked over at Amika she found the young nurse staring intently at Itachi, an expression of sheer admiration on her face.

Sakura tensed up, feeling very uncomfortable with Amika's obvious attraction toward the famed Uchiha. It was one thing for Sachi to admire him – she wasn't in a position to protect Sachi from the man. He had made it clear he didn't really pose a danger to her anyway.

But Amika was _her_ nurse. She had no idea what Itachi had done in his past, no idea what a monster he really was.

She couldn't really blame Amika. She didn't know the truth. She just saw Itachi for what he was at face value – an attractive man close to her age.

Sakura cleared her throat.

"What?" Amika asked, tearing her eyes away from Itachi to glance back at Sakura who was glaring at her.

"You want to help me, huh?" Sakura asked, "Why don't you start by going over the notes I left on my desk. See if you can find a reason why Itachi-san here hasn't keeled over yet in spite of his two very serious conditions."

"Sakura-san!"

"What?" Sakura asked, feigning innocence.

"Your bedside manner!" Amika said, aghast, "Your patient is sitting right here!"

"He's tough," Sakura said, chewing her food with indifference, "He can handle some harsh words. He's handled much worse."

Amika fixed her with a petulant look.

"Go," Sakura said, "Now."

Amika narrowed her eyes at Sakura and then flashed Itachi a bright smile, "You'll have to excuse her. She's a brilliant medic, but she has quite a mouth."

Wisely, Amika darted from the room before Sakura could gather enough chakra in her fist to punch the insolent girl through the nearest wall. When she was certain the girl was gone, Sakura resumed eating, pretending not to enjoy it as much as she actually was. She couldn't let Itachi know that he was a decent cook.

"She's right," Itachi said, that small trace of mirth back in his eyes again, "You do have quite a mouth."

She snapped her eyes up to his and pushed her chair away from the table with enough force to jostle everyone's plates.

"You are in no position to judge me, Uchiha," she said through clenched teeth.

"I was only teasing," Itachi said, and Sakura didn't miss the way his tone was almost remorseful.

"Teasing?" Sakura said, vaguely aware that her tone was bordering on hysterical, "You think we're friends now? That you can tease me like that?"

"That wasn't my-"

"You have no right to _tease_ me like we're friends."

"I know."

"Do you even have friends? Is that why you feel the need to do this?"

Sakura was hovering over the table, leaning toward Itachi with growing rage, her hands trembling. It occurred to her that she must be out of her mind to say such things to a man like Itachi.

Itachi had remained seated and silent in spite of Sakura's _hissy fit_ and glanced awkwardly between Sachi and Yamato who looked shocked and a little bit frightened.

"Rule number two, Sakura-san," Yamato said in that condescending way that kids sometimes say things.

Sakura felt herself deflating and sunk back into her chair with a groan.

After a beat of silence, Itachi pushed his chair back and began clearing the table.

"I'll clean up," Sakura said.

Itachi paused and eyed her skeptically.

"Just take the children back to their room, please," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

Itachi dropped the plates he had been holding into the sink and scooped Sachi up. She attached herself to his hip in that way that toddlers do and rested her head on his shoulder, giving Sakura a reproachful look.

"Come on, Yamato," he said quietly but firmly. Yamato jumped up from his place at the table and followed Itachi to the door.


	6. Chapter 6

Itachi liked to think he was a patient man. He'd put up with his fair share of temper tantrums from Sasuke when they were younger, but Sakura's behavior was completely unacceptable in his opinion.

He knew, of course, that he was in no position to reprimand her. That would surely only exacerbate the situation.

But he didn't like the way she lost her temper in front of the children. He didn't like the way she had said such cruel things about him while they were listening. It was different when they had been alone – when the bite of her words only stung him. It was entirely different to see Sachi and Yamato frightened of the woman who would supposedly be taking over care of them in the near future.

It occurred to him that _he_ was the reason she was so volatile. She didn't know the sacrifices that he had made, the horrible things he'd been through. All she knew was that he was the source of her pain.

But there was nothing he could do about that.

"Itachi-san, will you read us a story?" Sachi was tugging on his sleeve with a stack of children's books propped under her arm.

"If you and Yamato can agree on which one to read," he replied. He leaned back against the headboard of Sachi's bed and stretched his legs out.

Sachi toddled over to Yamato's bed where he sat fiddling around with a kunai he had "borrowed" from Itachi's weapons pouch. She tossed the books on the bed and climbed up next to her brother.

Itachi closed his eyes and smiled, listening to Sachi and Yamato discuss which book they'd like to hear. He was surprised they hadn't begun to argue yet.

He tried not to think about Sakura downstairs, probably still sitting at the table with her head in her hands – _not_ cleaning the dishes that ought to have been properly rinsed off by now.

He felt Sachi pull on his sleeve again and cracked open an eye. She extended a book to him and began climbing into his lap. The book was pink with a picture of a little blonde girl holding a purple cake on the cover.

"Princess Coco's Baking Adventure," Itachi read the title aloud, "Did you approve this, Yamato?"

Yamato shrugged his shoulders indifferently and continued spinning the kunai around his fingers.

"Princess Coco's Baking Adventure it is," Itachi said, pulling Sachi fully into his lap and tucking her head under his chin. He held the book open to where she could see the pictures and began to read to her.

He felt weirdly calm and pleasant reading to Sachi. She giggled as he read, pointing with excitement to things little girls liked like Princess Coco's fancy dress or trays of cupcakes with rainbow frosting.

He realized with a start that he was feeling _happy._ In spite of being so close to enemy territory with a Konoha-nin essentially taking care of him, he felt happy.

Sachi was the source of this happiness – he couldn't really deny it at this point. He felt a strong affection for the girl, and her older brother to a lesser degree. The thought of leaving her with Sakura pained him. The thought of leaving her at all pained him.

He knew what was best for her: being in Konoha where she would be taken care of and loved. He could think of no better place for her. It certainly wouldn't be with him in Rain or on the run.

Itachi turned the page and continued reading softly. He spared a glance at Yamato who had abandoned his kunai practice and was engrossed quietly in a book of his own.

Flipping the page, Itachi began to read the caption underneath a picture of Princess Coco wearing an apron and holding up a spatula coated with pink frosting when he noticed that Sachi had not pointed to anything in a while. He looked down into his lap and saw her even breathing, her chest rising and falling in a steady cadence. Her eyes were shut, her thick lashes resting lightly on her cheeks.

Itachi shut the book and set it down on the bed beside him and pulled the blanket over the both of them. Sachi had the right idea. He could use a good nap, too.

.

He was awake the instant he felt Sakura's presence on the other side of the door. His immediate reaction was that he needed to move away from Sachi. Sakura already had the wrong idea about their relationship. He didn't feel the need to explain it to her (it was none of her business), but seeing the pair of them dozing off together probably didn't paint the best picture.

But he didn't want to wake the poor girl who looked so much like a cherub when she was sleeping. Her cheeks were tinged and rosy and her breaths were soft, nearly musical. She looked like she could have been a character from her book or an angel from a painting.

Instead of jostling her, Itachi stayed put but shifted himself up higher so that he was sitting up. He saw from the light pouring through the window that it was somewhere close to noon. He had slept for most of the morning. He noticed that Yamato appeared to be missing, his kunai and books left scattered about his bed.

"Itachi-san," Sakura said, not bothering to knock before she entered the room. If she had any particular feelings about him holding Sachi against his chest while they both were in her bed she made no indication of it. Her gaze was steely and sharp.

"I was hoping to get in a quick healing session," she said, "If you feel well-rested enough."

Itachi gingerly stood up, cradling Sachi in his arms and set her down in the spot he had just been. When he had covered her again with the blanket he turned back to Sakura.

A feeling of dizziness swept over him – not as severe as the first time it had happened, but strong enough that Itachi had to brace his hand against the wall beside the bed.

Sakura was at his side in an instant, her fingers looped around his arms. She tried to pull him toward Yamato's bed, but he pushed her away.

"I'm fine," he said, though he was not feeling fine, "Where is Yamato?"

"Rokuda-san has put him to work," Sakura said, "He's outside pulling weeds."

Itachi didn't know who Rokuda was, but was pleased to know that Yamato was doing something to pull his weight – _their_ weight, he thought. He had made a deal with Sakura, but that had nothing to do with the inn in which he and the children were staying for free now.

"So how about that healing session?" Sakura asked.

He took a good look at her now. She was wearing what he presumed was her standard gear – red vest, black shorts with a pink apron buckled over top. They were rumpled like she had slept in them. Her eyes were dry, but bloodshot. She had most likely been crying and had the good sense to wash her face afterwards.

"Are you alright?" he asked. It was probably not a good idea to ask such a question. She seemed volatile enough to explode at even an innocent inquiry. He figured she might have taken offense at the fact that he was either telling her she didn't look alright or that she wasn't in the best condition to facilitate a healing session.

But instead her shoulders appeared to droop and she cast her eyes downward toward his feet.

"I should be the one asking you that," she said.

Itachi had nothing to say to that and they stood in silence for a moment before Sakura spoke again.

"Let's take this across the hall so we don't wake Sachi," she said, "I'd really like to make some good progress today."

Itachi followed her to his own room and took a seat on his bed. Sakura stood in front of him – too close for his comfort – but then her hands were on his chest, funneling her sweet, cooling chakra into his lungs.

"There will have to be two phases to your recovery," she said, her tone clinical and nothing like the way she had spoken to him in the kitchen, "The first phase will be to clear the new infection, but because you are the key to my cure for it, that phase will likely be prolonged."

Itachi nodded and resisted the urge to let his eyes fall shut. The pain in his chest had begun to fade away and he felt like his lungs could take in a full and deep breath without causing him to careen into a coughing fit. He didn't want to test that theory just yet, but the sensation was relaxing all the same.

"As for your autoimmune disease," Sakura began, "It will take much longer to fix. Longer than I original thought."

His posture went rigid and he locked his eyes onto hers. "So you're unable to hold up your end of the bargain?" he asked.

"Not in the time frame I slated," she said, her tone still clinical, no trace of the volatility he had been expected, "But if you can spare a few extra days, I can still make sure you leave here a perfectly healthy man."

Itachi thought about this for a moment. He was already defying his orders from Akatsuki. He should have arrived in Rain by now and people would be wondering where he was. Kisame might cover for him, but he couldn't know for sure.

He could potentially tell them the truth – a portion of it at least. He had fallen ill with a highly contagious disease and had gone to the nearest town with a force able to handle such an infection.

But if they chose to investigate these claims they would find Sakura at the heart of the operation. It was an entanglement that was questionable at best – traitorous at worst.

He didn't really have a choice – he supposed. He could leave after she had cleared the infection, but he was likely to get sick again and die. He couldn't fathom dying any way but by Sasuke's hand – a fate he could no longer predict now that he had no idea where his little brother was. Last he had heard, the boy had killed Orochimaru and fled from Sound.

If he stayed here, Sakura could heal him and Sasuke would have his chance at revenge. That was more important than anything else.

Distantly, as if the thought was not his own, he was pleased to know that staying a few days longer meant more time with Sachi as well. He did not dwell on that.

"I guess I'll have to stay a few extra days, then," Itachi said.

Sakura peered at him, head tilted. A strand a pink hair had fallen into her eyes and she flicked it away with a slender finger. Itachi wondered briefly what Sasuke thought of this very pink woman in front of him. Did he put up with her sometimes violent antics? Did she even have those spurts of anger when Sasuke was around?

"You're nothing like I thought you would be, Itachi-san."

She was looking at him with an expression he recognized to be regret, but he couldn't quite determine why she would feel that way. Looking into her eyes, bloodshot as they were, made him feel uncomfortable so he shifted his gaze to the floor.

"I thought you might be more like Sasuke," she ventured. He could tell by her voice that she was nervous to bring up his brother in front of him.

"The way you are with Sachi…" she said, her words trailing, falling, sinking, "I can't imagine Sasuke acting that way. He's always so cold. Maybe he wouldn't be that way around kids. Babies. I don't know."

Itachi was listening with rapt attention. He had been keeping tabs on Sasuke to the best of his abilities, but he longed to know more. There was only so much information he could glean from a distance. But here was Sakura – his teammate, someone who would know him better than anyone else – confessing things she ought not confess to a man like Itachi.

"You're not like him at all," Sakura continued, "He would never have made me breakfast – not even when we were on missions together. And he would never have tolerated me yelling at him the way I yelled at you today."

Her hands were still on his chest, but the sensation of her chakra had receded. She let them linger there a second longer than was probably appropriate and Itachi wondered if she was thinking about Sasuke, imagining that it was him on the bed in front of her instead of Itachi.

"I'm sorry," she said, "for yelling at you. I shouldn't have done that in front of Sachi and Yamato."

His heart ached a little bit when he caught the pained expression on her face. She looked so much like Sachi when she was about to cry that he felt a sudden urge to pull her into his chest and stroke her hair.

"I'm just so angry," she continued, "At Sasuke for leaving us. And you for making him want to."

"You really love my brother."

She looked up at him and he saw a flash of anger in her features before it faded away just as quickly as it had come.

"Of course I love him."

Itachi felt a pang of jealousy tighten in his chest. He was happy, of course, that his little brother was loved. It was so hard to remember what having loved ones felt like – what it felt like to know that someone out there loved him. An image of Sachi presented itself in his mind, unbidden. He blinked several times and let out a labored sigh.

"I'm going to extend my chakra into all of your chakra points now," Sakura said, her clinical tone back, "It won't hurt, but it will require a lot of my concentration – so no more talking."

Itachi was grateful for the shift in mood. They were approaching dangerous territory. Maybe later he would ask her about Sasuke some more.

"I appreciate your apology, Sakura-san," Itachi said.

Sakura, who had her eyes closed and her hands back against his chest, shushed him.

"I'm sorry if my presence is painful for you."

"Be quiet, please."

"I will do my best not to provoke you any further."

Sakura glared at him but continued to work in silence, threading her chakra into his system. It felt different than before – stronger and tighter, like she was winding up all of his nerves and stretching them taut. It was unpleasant, but not painful.

When he had familiarized himself with the sensation and was no longer distracted by it, he noticed that her hands were trembling. She was unguarded now, with her eyes closed as she worked. Itachi took that moment to really look at her face. Beneath the thin skin of her eyelids, he could see her eyes darting about as if she were dreaming. Her lashes – a dark pink, he noticed – shook against her cheeks. Her lips were parted when she caught her lower lip between her teeth and chewed it pensively before releasing it.

Itachi cast his eyes down to the floor, feeling as though he had somehow invaded her privacy by looking at her.

.

Sakura had spent nearly an hour funneling her chakra into Itachi and when she finally left, Itachi felt relieved. She had exhausted a massive portion of her chakra – he could feel that her signature was weakened severely. It made him wonder just what she had been doing to him and just how much chakra med-nins usually used.

But with his room to himself again, Itachi felt like he could breathe. Being around Sakura made him uncomfortable. She was a variable he couldn't have predicted when he formulated his plan to bring Yamato and Sachi to Toyeiki, and now he wasn't quite sure how to deal with her.

She was predictably hostile toward him, save for when she slipped into her medic mode – a mode Itachi much preferred. He couldn't blame her for that. They were enemies to be sure. At least as far as she was concerned.

Her hostility kept him on edge. She had been the one to propose the deal to him, yet he couldn't help but feel like she would somehow stab him in the back. Once she had found the cure she needed, would she really just let him go? If it came down to a true fight, Itachi had no doubt that he would win. But there were many other ways that Sakura could subdue him.

He wondered what Sakura might do with him if she did manage such a thing. Surely she wouldn't want to kill him knowing that Sasuke wanted desperately to be the one to strike the final blow. Would she take him back to Konoha? What would happen to him there? Hiruzen had known the truth – been a crucial part of it, in fact. Did Tsunade know as well? He had no way of knowing what information the Fifth had learned.

Itachi felt a deep longing to speak to Tsunade, just to confirm what she might know. He didn't know much about the woman, but she had been chosen as Hokage and he trusted that she could look after Konoha just as well as her four predecessors.

Uninterested in letting his thoughts sour his mood, Itachi decided to peek into Sachi's room and see if she was still asleep.

She was awake, sitting on her bed with her book in her lap. She was humming softly – nonsensical notes, not in the slightest bit musical – and swaying back and forth. Itachi watched her, unnoticed. She would flip a page, giggle to herself and then flip to a new one.

"Sachi," Itachi said, "Did you have a good nap?"

The girl slammed her book shut with a loud snap and rushed over to him, arms wide so she could circle them around his legs.

"Come on," Itachi said, "Let's go find your brother."

They found poor Yamato outside with the woman Sakura had said was named Rokuda. They were in what appeared to have once been a garden, now overgrown with weeds and shrubs. Yamato was yanking weeds up with a gloved hand and tossing them into a wheelbarrow. His face was red and a sheen of sweat coated his skin.

"Rokuda-san," Yamato whined, "I'm hungry."

"No whining," said the woman, who was carefully tilling the ground in an area that Yamato must have already cleared.

"Itachi-san!" Yamato exclaimed when he caught sight of Itachi and Sachi standing near the garden's entrance. He dropped the weeds in his hand into the wheelbarrow and crossed the garden, "Itachi-san, I'm so hungry and this mean old lady won't let me eat!"

"I told you that you can eat when all the weeds are pulled," Rokuda said, leaning her hoe against the wooden fence. She extended her hand to Itachi with a friendly smile, "You must be Sakura's new patient. I'm Rokuda."

Itachi shook her hand and gave her a weak smile as he introduced himself.

"Itachi-san is in charge," Yamato said, crossing his arms with an angry huff, "And he's here now, so I can leave."

"Not quite, Yamato," Itachi said, "Rokuda-san is nice enough to let us stay here at no cost. The least you can do is help her pull the weeds."

"But—"

"No buts," Itachi said, "Sachi and I will help so it won't take as long. Then I will make you some lunch."

Yamato sucked in an angry breath, but returned to his spot and began yanking weeds from the ground.

Itachi and Yamato continued to pull weeds while Sachi played in the dirt. Too late, Itachi realized that he should not have let Sachi play in the dirt. Now both she and her brother would need a bath before they could eat. He was certain that Yamato could bathe on his own, but Sachi would need assistance and he wasn't sure what Sakura would think of him bathing her.

Itachi wondered if Sakura would be willing to bathe her while he made their food, but he didn't feel comfortable asking her. It was a hard enough subject to broach without the added factor of having to ask a hostile enemy.

While he thought of this, Itachi made quick work of the rest of the weeds in the garden. Yamato had followed his lead and started to put a little more effort into the task, but with Itachi doing most of the work the garden was cleared in less than an hour.

"Thank you so much for your help, Yamato-chan," Rokuda said when they had finished, "And you, too, Itachi-san."

Itachi nodded to the woman and took the children inside for their baths, leaving Rokuda to work in peace on her garden. He left them to play in their room for a moment before resigning himself to asking for Sakura's help.

He knocked on her door.

"Come in," Sakura yelled from the other side.

Itachi was surprised to see Sakura's state when he entered her room. She had changed into sweatpants and her hair was wet, twisted into a messy chignon on the top of her head. She was curled into a desk chair, her legs bent at an angle he would have found uncomfortable. She held a journal in her lap and tapped the eraser end of a pencil against her lips. Beneath her eyes were dark purple shadows, and Itachi could sense that had not regained much of her chakra yet.

He wanted to turn around and forget that he'd entered the room at all. She was working hard and obviously still tired. It wasn't a good time to ask a favor of her.

"Oh, Itachi-san," she said, uncurling herself, "I thought you were Amika."

She stood up and tossed her journal onto the desk. Standing up, it was easier to see just how small she looked inside her baggy clothes. He would not have believed that this pink-haired mess in front of him was a ninja if he had not already known.

"Are you feeling ill?" she asked. He wanted to ask her the same thing.

"No," he answered, "I wanted to ask a favor of you, if it's not too much of an imposition."

She raised a brow and folded her arms across her chest. He could only imagine what types of things were running through her mind – what things she presumed he might ask her.

"Yamato, Sachi, and I helped Rokuda-san clear the weeds from her garden," Itachi said before Sakura could come to her own conclusions. They would likely only cause her to become angry with him. "Could you give Sachi a bath while I make food for everyone?"

"Oh," she said, clearly not expecting his question, "Yes, I suppose I could do that. Or maybe I could get Amika to do it. I have a lot of work to do."

Itachi couldn't quite explain it, but he didn't want Amika to be the one to bathe Sachi. He didn't know Amika, save for the previous incident in the kitchen (an incident that didn't paint her in the most favorable way).

"If it's too much of an imposition, I can do it myself," Itachi said, "I assumed you might be more comfortable if someone else did it."

She looked up at him with a penetrating gaze. Itachi forced himself not to flinch under her scrutiny. It was a wonder that a woman so small and so pink could make him feel ashamed – like he had done something wrong. It was ironic. He could kill her in the blink of an eye, yet he couldn't look at her face.

"I will bathe her," Sakura said with finality, "And Yamato, too."

"Thank you," Itachi said.

A beat of silence followed, neither of them knowing what to say. For a moment, Itachi couldn't draw his eyes away from her. She looked exhausted, grumpy, and damp. He marveled at the fact that his life was in her hands, that her hands were even capable of such a thing.

"Would you like me to make some food for you as well?" he asked, "You look like you've been working hard. Your chakra signature is weak. You must be hungry."

"What's your angle, Itachi?"

"Excuse me?"

She had cocked her hip to the side and placed a supportive hand against her desk. It was a casual pose, but juxtaposed by the growing seriousness on her face. Itachi braced himself for her next outburst

"I mean, why do you care so much about these kids?" she asked, "And why are you being so nice – well, pleasant – to me? I don't understand your motives. You kill your clan, people you should have _loved_ , but these two random children that I still don't understand how you came to _possess-_ " Itachi flinched at her harsh inflection of the word "-are so important to you and you take such good care of them. Watching you with Sachi – it's so weird. If I didn't know who you are and what you've done, I'd have a completely different opinion of you. You seem so goddamn _nice_ and I hate it. I wish you would just be cruel. Why can't you just act like a missing-nin should act?"

During her rant, Sakura had straightened herself up, chest puffed out almost comically with bravado. She raked her fingers through her damp bangs, flicking them away from her eyes. Her eyes were a brighter shade of green now. They had lost some of the dullness, the gray, that had crept in at some point between their healing session and now.

It didn't take a genius to know why Sakura was so confused. Itachi regretted that he had not acted his part well enough. She should not be questioning whether or not he was a _nice_ person. He had cultivated an image of himself that was now rapidly falling apart. He could blame Sachi and Yamato – they were certainly part of the problem. But in reality, Itachi was tired of playing the villain. It didn't seem so necessary at the start, and now it was too late to fix.

"I'm sorry, Sakura," he said.

She seemed to grow more angry, eyes narrowing sharply. He wondered if she ever directed that same pointed look at Sasuke, or if she only looked at him with tender gazes and affection. He wondered if she could have ever looked at him that way, if things had been different. Would they have been friends? Or would she have regarded him as nothing more than her teammate's older brother?

"No," she said sharply, "No apologizing. Just tell me why you act this way. I want to know. I want to know what's wrong with you."

"I wish I could answer your questions," he said, measuring his tone carefully. He felt his villainous persona had already slipped too far from his grasp. He felt so comfortable here in this spot where he was just a man, where he didn't have to hold up the weight of the village on his ever-weakening shoulders.

"Then just answer them."

"We are shinobi, Sakura," he said, "Things aren't always straight-forward."

"Don't lecture me," she snapped.

He went quiet, expecting her to say something else, but she sagged against her desk and let out an exasperated sigh. He watched her expression soften as she seemed to collapse in on herself like a dying star. He moved closer in case he might need to catch her, but she took a step back from him.

It occurred to him that she must be feeling a myriad of things right now. She was on a mission that didn't seem to be going so well for her. Her teammate was missing and she was too far away to do anything about it should any update be made, and the man responsible for it was currently standing in her office.

"If you need me to be mean," Itachi said, "I can do it. If it would help you."

"Shut up," she muttered, "That makes no sense."

In spite of the seriousness of the situation, Itachi laughed. He couldn't recall a time when someone had told him to _shut up_. She looked up at him with incredulity, no doubt baffled that he was even capable of laughing.

"I understand what you must be feeling," Itachi said, "I'll do what I can to make all of this go as smoothly and quickly as possible. It's not my intention to agitate you."

She cast him a skeptical glance.

"Best case scenario for both of us is to hold up our ends of the bargain and then go our separate ways," he continued.

She let out another pained sigh and brushed past him into the hallway. "I would appreciate if you made some food for me as well, Itachi-san," she said and then disappeared into the children's bedroom.


	7. Chapter 7

Just like Sakura had asked, Itachi had set the table and prepared four dishes by the time she had bathed both Yamato and Sachi. They had not fought her so much this time, probably exhausted from a day of pulling weeds. Sakura, too, was feeling exhausted.

Itachi was standing in the kitchen near the sink, watching Sakura with undiluted attention. She had expected that Sachi would receive the warmest welcome from the missing-nin, but he seemed to have saved that privilege for her. He continued to watch as she took her seat and began eating.

"Thank you for bathing the children, Sakura-san," Itachi said. He remained standing in the kitchen with no obvious intention of joining them at the table.

Sakura glanced up at him from her food. She didn't like the way he was watching her. His expression was as neutral as ever, as if he were regarding a speck of dirt underneath his fingernail. It was infuriating and unnerving.

"It needed to be done and I did it," she said. "No need to thank me."

Itachi remained silent, watching as she ate her food. If he was trying to provoke a reaction from her, she hated to admit it was working. She wished that for once he could just be accommodating and sit down and eat in silence so that she could go back to working on the cure.

"Itachi-san, come sit and eat with us," Yamato said, patting the chair next to him with a tiny flourish.

"Yeah," agreed Sachi, reaching over to pat the chair but coming up short and patting wildly at the air.

The corner of Itachi's mouth quirked up in an amused smile. It reminded Sakura so much of Sasuke that she felt all the breath leave her body in a shudder. She gasped, sucking in a quick, deep breath.

He looked sharply at her, worry evident in his eyes – definitely not like Sasuke. In that moment she realized that what really pissed her off about Itachi being so _nice_ was that it left Sasuke with no excuse. If his psychopathic older brother could be pleasant and polite, damn it, he could, too.

"Are you alright, Sakura-san?" Itachi asked. She hated how sincere he sounded.

"I'm fine," she said, "Just come sit down and eat."

Itachi complied and sat down across from her. He turned his attention to his plate – away from her, thank god.

Sakura was in tune enough with herself to admit that she was in a bad mood. She couldn't entirely blame Itachi for this, though he was certainly a big part of it. She was tired and hungry (which she was currently rectifying and could strike from the list, but decided to keep it anyway), and her mission was more wildly complicated than she could have predicted. All together, Sakura felt _cranky_. She was a mature adult (sort of) who was entirely capable of controlling her emotions, though.

So, she supposed that if Itachi could be nice to her, she could be nice to him, too.

"Thank you for the food, Itachi-san," she said, "Where did you learn to cook? You're very good at it."

That might have been too much, she thought.

"My mother taught me."

Yeah, _way_ too much. Sakura cleared her throat and kept her eyes on her plate. It wouldn't do any good to snap at him in front of Sachi and Yamato, but a sickening mixture of fear and hatred had bubbled up to the surface and she could feel the pressure building. She wouldn't let herself snap, though. Because she was almost a mature adult.

"And I use my Sharingan to watch cooking shows," the continued casually, "It helps me quickly memorize recipes and techniques."

In that instant, the shock of such a statement converted her hatred into a wild cackle that ripped through her body and out of her mouth so loud that Sachi and Yamato both flinched. She continued to laugh for much longer than was appropriate, until tears had streaked down her cheeks and her sides hurt.

Itachi was watching her again, not so unnervingly this time – more with amusement, a smile just beginning to stretch across his lips.

"Itachi-san," Yamato piped up after it was clear that Sakura's laughter was under control, "What's a Sharingan?"

She watched him falter, maybe not prepared to answer such a question. He swallowed the mouthful of food he had been chewing and rubbed the back of his neck, considering what his answer would be.

"It's a bloodline limit," he answered – vague to be sure, but he didn't seem to want to offer any more information.

"What does that mean?" Yamato asked.

"A bloodline limit is a special ability that is passed down genetically with specific clans," Sakura answered for him, "Kind of like you and Sachi both have brown hair because one of your parents had brown hair."

"Our hair is a bloodline limit?"

"Not quite," Sakura said with a smile, "It's just an example of genetics. A bloodline limit is a specific ability. Usually a person who has one is a shinobi."

"You're a shinobi, aren't you, Sakura-san?" Yamato asked, "Do you have a bloodline limit?"

"No," Sakura said, and it was a little too difficult to keep the wistfulness out of her tone. Itachi was looking at her again, something between concern and curiosity in his gaze. "And I don't have a tailed-best inside me either. I'm just plain ole Sakura."

"Tailed-beast…?" Yamato asked, but it was muttered under his breath and Sakura didn't want to elaborate. She probably shouldn't have even mentioned it in the first place.

Itachi cleared his throat and when Sakura looked up at him she saw that his eyes were crimson. She ripped her eyes away, settling them back down in her lap as a cold lump of fear twisted in her stomach. _He promised not to hurt me_.

"Woah!" Yamato exclaimed. Sakura didn't have the courage to look away from her lap just yet to see what all the fuss was about.

"Is that your bloodline limit?" she heard Yamato ask, "What does it do?"

"Maybe I will show you some other time, Yamato-chan," Itachi said, "But this is what it looks like. If you ever meet someone who has eyes like this, do not look at them. They are very dangerous."

Sakura fidgeted uncomfortably. The only other person he could have been referring to was Sasuke. Did he really think that Sasuke would want to hurt a couple of kids? Ironic, really, because if Sakura had to choose between Itachi and Sasuke as caretakers Sasuke would obviously be her pick. Now, though, she wasn't so sure anymore.

"Will you show me tomorrow?" Yamato asked.

"If it's alright with Sakura-san."

Sakura swallowed, keeping her eyes squeezed shut and her head down. If he was asking if she would allow him to use his Sharingan on Yamato he should have expected that she would not agree to that.

But maybe that was what he wanted. He didn't seem to want to share information about his Sharingan. This way he could pin the blame on Sakura.

"Sakura-san?" she heard Yamato say. His voice was pleading, a little bit over the top. She imagined he had busted out his wavering lower lip and was giving her puppy dog eyes.

"It's okay, Sakura-san," Itachi said, "I've deactivated my Sharingan."

She cracked one eye open and stole a highly conspicuous peek at the famed killer to find that, true to his word, he had deactivated his Sharingan and his eyes were once again coal black. He was regarding her with pity, and little bit of concern, which was a combination Sakura didn't much care for.

He turned back to Yamato. "If you or Sachi ever come across someone with eyes like mine, do exactly what Sakura-san did and keep your eyes closed."

Yamato nodded enthusiastically. Sachi, on the other hand, seemed entirely disinterested in the entire conversation and was pushing her food around her plate.

"Do you understand, Sachi?" Itachi asked. The girl cocked her head to the side, pausing for a moment and then nodding.

Satisfied with her answer, Itachi took another bite of his food.

"Do you think Sasuke would hurt them?" Sakura asked. She knew she shouldn't have. There was no possible answer he could give that wouldn't anger her in some way, but the curiosity got the better of her.

"Of course not," he answered, "But I think you'd know better than I would."

"Then why warn them about the Sharingan?"

"Because…"

"Sakura-san," Yamato interjected.

"Because what, Itachi-san?" Sakura asked.

"Sakura-san," Yamato said again.

"Never mind," Itachi said. He'd spoken with finality. The subject was now closed. He turned to his food and took another bite.

"No," Sakura said, pounding her fist on the table, "If you aren't warning them about Sasuke, then who is it? I thought you two were the only Uchihas left."

"That information is beyond the scope of our bargain," Itachi said. His tone was cold now – a harsh juxtaposition against his usual warmth.

"What information?" Sakura asked, "So there _is_ another Uchiha?"

"Sakura-san!"

"What, Yamato?" Sakura snapped.

He flinched back away from her. "Can Itachi-san show me his Sharingan tomorrow?" he asked.

"Absolutely not," she replied.

"Why not?" Yamato asked.

"Who is it?" Sakura asked, "Who is the other Uchiha?"

A wail came from the lobby then – a pained, sickening cry that could only have come from someone in an excruciating amount of pain. Sakura didn't hesitate before she was off after the sound. The medic in her took control.

The screaming was louder as she approached the lobby – one voice backed by the sounds of lots of people talking, moaning, sobbing.

She found herself back in the lobby, kneeling down near a cot that had been recently filled by a portly looking civilian man. He was screaming loudly for no outwardly apparent reason.

"I need you to calm down," Sakura said, green chakra gathering in her palms.

Behind her, Sakura realized that many more people were being shuffled into the lobby and onto beds. Rokuda and Amika were directing the swarm of new patients into rooms and cots as they filtered in, but it was apparent that the inn would not be able to contain the crowd.

Sakura didn't think about that as she channeled her chakra into the man. He was sick with the infection. He couldn't have been in any more pain that those around him. His screaming didn't cease, even after Sakura had cut off the infection and relieved his pain.

"Stop, please," Sakura said, running a hand through her hair, "You aren't the only patient here. Tell me why you're screaming."

His screaming faltered when he saw Sakura's face, probably for the first time since he'd had his eyes closed since he arrived.

"Tell me why you're screaming so I can help you," Sakura said with a calmness that she definitely didn't feel.

"My wife – " he said. He didn't finish his sentence before he passed out.

Sakura sighed deeply and spun around to survey the rest of the damage. It appeared that every room and cot was now filled, and the cries of the sick brought back memories of her first few nights in Toyeiki.

"Sakura-san," Amika spoke. She looked ragged and nervous, "We need the two extra rooms upstairs. We're already over capacity."

"Okay, clear out the kids room and move their stuff into my office," she said, "They aren't sick, so they can stay with me."

"What about the man?" Amika asked.

Sakura paused. "I don't know."

"Sakura-san!"

Sakura spun around to see Rokuda carrying a small child in each arm, both looking pale and sweaty.

"Rokuda-san," Sakura said, "Where did all these people come from?"

"A caravan," she said, "I'm not sure if we can handle all of this without Kira."

"We'll be fine," Sakura said, "I'm close to a cure. If you can handle getting everyone situated for now, I will go work on it. I need Itachi and I need a couple of hours uninterrupted. You don't need to work on curing anyone for now. Just make sure they're comfortable."

Rokuda and Amika nodded and dispersed. Amika disappeared up the stairs and Rokuda found suitable cots for the children in her hands and began going from cot to cot to help out where she could.

Sakura ran back to the kitchens. Everything was the way she had left it – the trio still eating at the table. Itachi's posture was more rigid now. He seemed to understand what had happened and was looking at Sakura expectantly.

"How can I help?" he asked, rising from his seat.

Help? What help was he offering?

"I need you in my office," she answered, "Now."

Itachi nodded, but cast a questioning glance at the children who were both watching Sakura with a mixture of confusion and fear. They had probably never heard someone scream the way that man had. It certainly hadn't been pleasant for Sakura, so she imagined it must have been terrifying for them.

"Yamato, take your sister and go play outside in the garden," Sakura commanded, "Do not leave the garden no matter what. And keep an eye on Sachi. Don't let anything happen to her."

Itachi looked like he wanted to protest, but he said nothing.

Sakura crouched down in front of Yamato. "This is your chance to prove that you can be a ninja like Itachi-san," she said, "Your mission is to protect your sister. Can you do it?"

Yamato nodded vigorously and took his sister's hand.

Sakura didn't need any more affirmation before she had grabbed Itachi's arm and was dragging him up to her office. Nothing was likely to happen to them in the gardens. No one in their right mind would come anywhere near the inn right now, and the garden was hidden from view. They would be fine.

"What's going on?" Itachi asked, gently pulling his arm out of her grasp.

"Massive influx of patients," she said, running about her office, grabbing her journals, syringes, and bottles of medicines from her cabinets. She indicated to Itachi that he should sit on the bed, "I'm very close to a cure. I was certain I'd have it finished by the end of the day. I hadn't expected all of this."

Outside the door, groans of pain floated to them - a symphony of pain and sickness. Sakura ignored it and rolled up the sleeve on Itachi's cloak.

"Did you consolidate our rooms?" Itachi asked, gesturing to the toys and books that had been moved into the office.

"Just the kids," Sakura said, plunging the needle into the pale skin of his arm, "I know it's not the most favorable of situations, but you'll probably be getting some roommates."

Itachi nodded, complacent. He was far too gracious, Sakura thought.

"What can I do to help?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked, "Do you have some secret medical ninjustu knowledge you've been hiding?"

"No," he said, cocking his head to the side, "I can help you feed and bathe the sick. I can change the bed linens or help you move cots. Whatever you need."

Sakura felt her mouth fall open, gaping like a fish. She realized how dumb she must have looked, but she was in no condition to be too concerned with her appearance, and she could have sworn that Itachi Uchiha had just offered to do grunt work for her.

"Are you serious?"

"Yes."

Regaining her composure, Sakura placed her emptied syringe on the tray next to the bed and pulled out her medical journal, handing it to Itachi.

"I really wish Sasuke was more like you," she said as she flipped through the pages that were now upside down to her. She located the page she needed – a chart mapping out chakra points.

"Rokuda and Amika can handle the grunt work for now," she continued, "If you really want to help, memorize that chart. I'll show you how to burn off the infection at the chakra points and you can help me get these people out of here."

Itachi held the journal limply in his lap, staring at her with the most pained expression she had seen on his face so far.

"You wish Sasuke was more like me?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

Sakura waved a dismissive hand in the air, "Yeah, yeah, we can delve deeper into that later," she said, "Just study that chart while I run a couple of tests with my chakra."

She watched his eyes bleed from red to black with morbid fascination before she gasped and screwed her eyes shut. "What the hell?" she asked.

She felt a hand reach out and lock around her wrist, pulling her closer to the bed, "It's okay, Sakura-san," he said. His voice was close and quiet, "I'm just using it to memorize the chart."

Sakura felt her heartbeat increasing, but the fear she had felt down in the kitchen wasn't present now. Regardless, she still kept her eyes shut and tried to quell the trembling in her hands.

She had never been subjected to the Sharingan before. She knew what it could do – the powerful genjustu he could place her under with hardly any effort. She had watched Naruto fight wildly against thin air after Gaara's rescue while fighting against Itachi. She had seen both Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei in comas after coming in contact with Itachi's Tsukiyomi. He was a powerful shinobi – one she didn't stand a chance against.

This was the only way she knew to protect herself. If she ever got caught in his genjustu, it was already over.

"I promised I wouldn't hurt you," he said, his grip still firm around her arm, "It wouldn't make sense for me to try to hurt you."

Sakura was inclined to agree, given the situation, but it also hadn't made sense for him to kill his entire family, so it was only fair that she hesitated.

"Do you want to make another deal with me?" he asked. Sakura could feel the warmth of his hand spreading through her arm.

"What kind of deal?"

He released her arm. She immediately took a step back away from the bed and rubbed the spot where his hand had been, eyes still closed.

"I promise I will not use my Sharingan on you without permission," he said, "If you open your eyes."

"Ever?"

There was a pregnant pause.

"Ever," he finally said.

"So," she said cautiously, "If we ever meet again, like, in battle, you won't use your Sharingan against me?"

"Right," he confirmed, "But only if you open your eyes."

Slowly, Sakura opened her eyes. Itachi was still sitting right where he had been on the bed ( _her_ bed, she realized). His eyes were still red and his gaze was focused on her, but it appeared that he had not been lying. She couldn't help the jolt of fear that tingled through her spine at the sight of his eyes, but she trusted that he would keep his promise.

"I can't promise that I won't use it against your comrades," he said, "But I will never use it against you without permission."

She didn't know what to say to that, or exactly why she felt heat flare up in her cheeks, so she busied herself with collecting the used syringe and tossing it in a nearby container.

Seeming to sense her discomfort, Itachi dropped his eyes to the journal in his lap and began to flip the pages. Sakura took the opportunity to place her hands on his chest (an act that seemed almost inappropriate now) and funneled her chakra into him.

She was back in her element now, and she had a job to do. She had all but stopped the infection in Itachi when she had found him outside yesterday. He had hardly showed any symptoms since then, save for an occasional dizzy spell. Going through his chakra system now, Sakura could see that the infection was still there, fusing with his chakra in a way she hadn't noticed before.

"How is your chakra control, Itachi-san?" she asked, suddenly all too aware that their faces were very close together.

"What do you need?"

"Can you concentrate some chakra in your hands like you were going to use them to walk on water?" she asked.

He nodded, setting aside the journal and holding both hands in his lap with his palms facing up. A glow of chakra settled in his open hands. Sakura slid her hands underneath his, probing with her own chakra.

She noticed immediately that the infection burned in the emitted chakra – not weakening it or strengthening it. It was just there.

"Don't move," she said. She snatched her microscope from her desk and returned to the bed, placing it on Itachi's lap. She arranged his hands under the scope so that she could see the skin of his palms.

She looked through the scope and saw nothing but blurriness. She pulled her eye away to see where she needed to readjust when she noticed that Itachi's hands were trembling.

"Are you feeling alright, Itachi-san?" she asked, pressing a hand to his forehead. He felt warm, but no warmer than he should. "Are you dizzy? Nauseous?"

"I'm fine," he said in a whisper.

She looked up at his face. Again, he looked pained.

"Itachi…?"

"I'm sorry," he said. He placed his hand back under the microscope and waited, watching Sakura expectantly.

Sakura gave him a suspicious glance, but turned her attention back to the microscope. His hands were steadier this time. Sakura stared for a long time, not quite sure what she was seeing.

It looked like the infection had morphed the chakra into a more solid state than it should have been. It wasn't just a color, a cloud, or an amorphous force. It had an almost gelatinous texture on a microscopic level. She had a sneaking suspicion that if she were to amass a large portion of infected chakra in one location, that it would have a near solid consistency.

Curious, Sakura pushed Itachi's hand away from the microscope and replaced it with her own, pulling a chakra scalpel through the tip of her finger. The chakra there was normal, as expected. The microscopic perspective didn't offer much on her regular, uninfected chakra, but it did confirm that the infection was slowly changing the chakra's state of matter.

"That's a chakra scalpel," Itachi said. Sakura pulled herself away from him, just realizing that she'd practically had her hand in his lap. His eyes were still red, and watching her with renewed interest. "That's impressive."

Sakura hummed politely in agreement because, well, it _was_ impressive and she appreciated that someone had acknowledged it. She just chose not to dwell on the fact that it was Itachi Uchiha.

"I've discovered something interesting about the infection," Sakura said, "It's manifesting itself within your chakra, not just your body."

She waited for his reaction, but he merely watched her with interest.

"Does your chakra feel different since you've been sick?" she asked. He hadn't been sick for very long, so the effect might not have set in, Sakura thought, and Itachi hadn't been using his chakra very much these past couple of days – at least not to her knowledge. The only thing she knew for sure is that he had activated his Sharingan twice today. "What about your vision? Is it normal?"

"My chakra feels… sticky," he said, "It's difficult to describe."

He deactivated his Sharingan, much to Sakura's relief.

"My vision is no worse than normal."

"No worse than normal?"

Itachi looked down at his feet. She had known that the effects of the Mangekyou Sharingan could cause damage to the eyes. She had worked on Kakashi's in the past and was quite familiar with it. For whatever reason, Sakura had assumed that the damage was happening to Kakashi because it was an implant. Now she wasn't so sure.

"May I take a look at your eyes?"

"No."

"You don't trust me."

"You understand why I wouldn't want you to touch my eyes," Itachi said, "It isn't personal."

"You understand why I wouldn't want to look into your Sharingan, but I did it anyway," Sakura retorted, "at your request."

Itachi gave her an annoyed look. Now _that_ was a look that reminded her of Sasuke.

"Besides," Sakura continued, "You made me a promise. It wouldn't make sense for me to try to damage your eyes. They pose no threat to me now."

"Unless they're in someone else's head."

"Are you talking about Orochimaru?"

Itachi shook his head, "Never mind."

"That's really annoying, you know," Sakura said, "I mean, I don't expect you to tell me all of your secrets. I suppose that even though it doesn't really _feel_ like it anymore, we _are_ still enemies. But you're the one who brought it up."

"You aren't my enemy, Sakura-san," he said.

She rolled her eyes. Of course he would say some shit like that. It was almost believable, because it felt true. Itachi didn't act like her enemy, and if she thought about it hard enough, she would probably start to question his motives. That required a lot more effort and brainpower than she was prepared to spend today, so she just glared at him instead.

"Of course I am," she replied, "You're an enemy of Konoha. We're de facto enemies."

"I suppose," he said in the most unconvincing manner ever.

"But I'll just let you know, against my better judgment," Sakura began, "that I'm suspicious of you. If I didn't know any better, I'd believe that Sasuke is the megalomaniac and _you_ are the victim of whatever the fuck went on with that disaster of a family you have. Had."

"I guess I really messed up, then," he said, letting the slight slide, "by letting you see the kinder side of me."

"Yeah, you probably shouldn't have done that."

"But you aren't going to tell anyone," he said, "Are you?"

"What would I tell them? That I met the infamous, cold-hearted clan-killer Itachi Uchiha and he really wasn't _that_ bad?" she said, using a tone that was light-hearted yet still accusing.

"You're right," he said, the corners of his mouth quirking up in what Sakura determined was _not_ a charming smile, "They'd never believe you."

She sent a glare in his direction and crossed her arms. They had gotten way too far off track.

"Anyway," she said, "As I was saying, your chakra has been infected and the bacteria has caused its state to become more viscous. I'm not sure what that means for you long term. I'd love to study the effects, but so far you are the only person I've seen infected who is capable of controlling chakra. And unfortunately, I promised I would heal you up and send you on your way, so I guess I'll never know."

"Unfortunately," he repeated.

"Now, I have a lot of work to do," she said, "So I'm going to show you how to burn off the infection and take you up on your offer to help me. And then I'm going to work out a fucking cure for this thing so I can go home."


	8. Chapter 8

Itachi did not understand why Sakura had chosen to become a medic-nin. Sure, she was very good at it. Apparently much better at it than he was. He had quickly learned how to cure a person who had been infected from her (thanks to the Sharingan that she was rightfully, but annoyingly afraid of) and then spent the rest of the day going from cot to cot healing those who needed it most.

Rokuda and Amika had also begun to help, and Itachi noticed with a small amount of pride that he was quicker at it than they were. It wasn't really a fair comparison, he supposed, because he was a quick learner and basically a genius.

But no amount of pride staunched the flow of rage that threatened to burst to the surface as he healed the most ungrateful and demanding patients. Itachi was a calm, reserved, and patient man. He rarely flew off the handle, or even felt anger at all. He could see now why Sakura was so volatile all the time. He would be too, if he had to deal with these ungrateful bastards every day.

They complained, whined, and demanded. They coughed in his face, pushed angrily at his hands when they felt he was too close. They insisted that one of the women see to them instead.

They didn't know, of course, that Itachi was sick, too. And they didn't know that Itachi was a missing-nin capable of killing them with just a look. So, justified in their minds, the patients grated on Itachi's nerves.

His only reprieve was the occasional walk he took out to the garden to check on Yamato and Sachi. They were as well behaved as he expected two unsupervised children would be. Predictably, they were covered in dirt the first time he went to check on them, and then subsequently _more_ dirt with each additional walk.

But they stayed in the garden and didn't cause too much trouble, so Itachi was grateful for that.

It had taken most of the day, but Itachi had finally healed everyone he was capable of healing. He was exhausted and his chakra _did_ feel weird – now that Sakura had mentioned it. He hadn't had the chance to wonder too much about what she had said about the changing of his chakra's state. At the time, his mind had been elsewhere – which was not good, because it was definitely focused on Sakura and that was a huge problem.

But now he could focus on the slow stickiness that had weaved its way into his chakra network. It made him feel sluggish and he noticed that his chakra control had diminished somewhat. It would likely only get worse if left untreated. He assumed that he now had the means to cure that damn disease himself, but he couldn't do that until Sakura had found a cure. Or rather, he _wouldn't._ Because he had made a promise. He had been making a lot of promises lately.

Itachi was aware that he was in very dangerous territory. Sakura was suspicious of him and his role in the massacre. It made sense for her to be. It would have made sense for _anyone_ to be, but especially her. She was probably the only person in the world who had met his _real_ self. Sasuke had, and then he had shattered that image and replaced it with a monster. So now, he was just a monster to everyone who mattered.

Except now there were other people who mattered, sort of. Yamato and Sachi mattered and they didn't think he was a monster. They didn't know any better, of course. And they were too young to understand the truth.

Sakura was a wildcard, though. She was capable of understanding. She would probably even be sympathetic. He longed to tell her the truth, to let her know that he wasn't really a monster and that she wasn't too far off the mark when she said that he could have been the victim.

She reminded him of the home he could never go back to, and the family that he had killed in order to protect her and the rest of the village.

He was jealous that Sasuke had been given the opportunity to get to know the pink-haired girl, and even the kyuubi vessel who seemed to care about him more than anyone had ever cared about Itachi. And he was angry that Sasuke had thrown that opportunity away.

In some ways, Itachi regretted the decisions he had made. Looking back, he couldn't fathom another way to have handled the situation. Even if he had found one, it was no use to him now. He had already ruined his own life, accepting the hate thrown his way so that it wouldn't be thrown on Sasuke – so that Konoha would have peace.

He would have to make do with these snippets of happiness he mined from Sachi and Yamato. He would have to accept that while he and Sakura could be civil acquaintances, they would never be friends. There was no other option.

"Itachi-san!"

Itachi looked up, startled by the sound of Sakura's voice that sounded infinitely better than the petulant whines that came from the patients that surrounded him.

"Itachi-san," she said, "I think I've got it! A cure, I mean."

She reached out and tugged him arm, pulling him along back toward her office in much the same way that Sachi might have done. When they were back in her office, she pushed him gently toward the bed and pulled out needle.

"I think that this will work," she said, prepping his arm for the injection, "The technique I showed you burns off the infection and eradicates it completely so that the bacteria can't spread anymore."

She plunged the needle into his arm. He didn't like it, but he didn't flinch either.

"But this injection – it contains a trace amount of your chakra that I manipulated with mine to be able to resist the bacteria. That's why blood samples weren't very useful to me. It's a chakra based disease," she explained.

"I've never heard of such a thing," he said.

"Yeah, me neither," she said, "But this should fix everyone up, if it works. You're my guinea pig."

"That's very reassuring."

"Are you worried?"

"No, I'm sure you've done it," he said, "The Hokage wouldn't have given you this mission if you couldn't complete it."

"And it only took me a week longer than it was supposed to."

He laughed, because it was funny and he felt comfortable laughing around her. He'd already fucked up and made her suspicious. He couldn't make it any worse unless he just outright told her the truth.

"Alright," she said, "Now we just wait and see. Are there any patients left?"

"There are some people still here, but everyone has been healed to the best of our abilities," he answered.

She raised an eyebrow, "All of them? There were hundreds of people here."

"Rokuda-san and Amika-san helped."

She tsked and rolled her eyes, but she was smiling and it made Itachi's chest clench painfully for a second before it subsided.

"You and I both know that they aren't exactly the cream of the crop when it comes to medical ninjustu," she said, "Have you ever considered becoming a medic-nin, Itachi-san? I think you'd be well suited for it."

"I've been wanting to take my career in a different direction," he said.

She threw he head back and laughed at his joke and again, Itachi breathed through the tightening in his chest. He would have to remember not to make her laugh or smile again because he wasn't sure he could handle it. Even if it weren't for the physical reaction it caused in him, the guilt was enough. It should be Sasuke making her laugh – not him.

"Come on," she said, "Let's go check on Yamato and Sachi."

.

Darkness had fallen outside by the time the children had been bathed and fed. They were back in Sakura's office where Itachi was reading another book to Sachi. He had chosen this time – a book about a cat looking for its owner. Luckily, Sachi didn't protest. He didn't want to have to read another Princess Coco book while Sakura was listening.

Sakura was unfolding two cots on the other side of the room, one for Yamato and one for Sachi. Itachi was envious that they would get to sleep in here where Sakura was their only company while he had to go back to his room where there were several other men – ones he had healed earlier that day. They had been just as irritating as the rest of the patients and Itachi was not looking forward to rejoining them.

Itachi dutifully finished reading the book, even after it was obvious that Sachi had once again fallen asleep in his lap. When he finished, he took Sachi over to one of the cots and tucked her in.

Sakura had put Yamato to bed already. The boy had been nearly asleep when they brought him back inside from the garden. It was a wonder he had stayed awake during his bath.

"Are you feeling alright, Itachi-san?" Sakura asked, her voice low to avoid waking the children, "Can you feel a difference yet?"

Itachi considered for a moment, moving his chakra around through his system to see if there was a difference. Truthfully, he couldn't tell. His chakra _did_ feel less sticky – but it hadn't really felt that abnormal to begin with.

When he didn't respond right away, Sakura moved toward him and placed her glowing hands on his chest again. He wanted to push her away, but he let her touch him anyway. He felt her chakra flood into him.

"Everything looks good," she said, "I don't see any more infection. It looks like the bacteria is cleared."

She was beaming, proud of her handiwork. Itachi found her smile infectious and he smiled, too, also slightly proud of her (and himself for his small part in finding the cure).

"Tomorrow morning I will start making batches of the vaccine," she said, "And once I fix your autoimmune disease we can all be on our way."

It was good news, and Itachi tried not to dwell on why it made him feel so depressed. His time here (his _vacation,_ really) was coming to an end. Soon he would be back in Rain, back to being a villain.

Itachi slumped himself into Sakura's desk chair, avoiding her gaze in case she expressed annoyance at the fact that he was still in what was technically also her bedroom. He didn't want to go back to his room just yet. He didn't want to listen to the men who would assuredly be complaining for most of the night.

He took in a deep breath and held it in for much longer than was comfortable.

"Do you want to talk about Sasuke?"

He wasn't sure that he had heard her correctly. He would have assumed that Sasuke would be a sore subject for her. She seemed pretty bitter any time he was brought up. But, she had always been the one to bring him up.

"I mean, we don't have to," she said, "If you don't want to. I just thought since you seemed pretty interested when I mentioned him earlier that you might want to continue that discussion."

Truthfully, Itachi felt like it was a bad idea. It was too personal and he had already shared way too much information with her to begin with. She could be fishing for more information or trying to backstab him somehow.

But curiosity got the better of him.

"What do you think of Sasuke?" he asked.

She smiled softly, appearing to be pleased that he wanted to talk, but the smile disappeared immediately, replaced by a wistful, longing look.

"I think Sasuke is an amazing shinobi," she said, "One of the strongest I know."

"What else?"

She sighed and plopped herself down onto her bed, "Honestly, I have a lot of mixed feelings about him. I had a crush on him when we were at the academy. All the girls did. I was so excited when we were put on a team together. I thought he would finally notice me."

Itachi felt a smile tug at his lips, thinking about a young Sakura pining over his little brother.

"Did he?"

"Not quite," she said, and there was a harshness to her tone that made Itachi feel uncomfortable, "I just annoyed him. Naruto and I, we both tried to befriend him. We _did_ work well as a team. But Sasuke was always unreachable. He was consumed by his need for revenge. Nothing else mattered to him. Not even us."

Itachi held himself perfectly still. This had definitely been a mistake.

"What would you have done, Itachi-san," Sakura asked, "If Sasuke had been the one to murder your family and left you behind?"

Never had Itachi expected to hear a question like that. How could he even begin to answer such a question?

"Would you want revenge?"

He didn't know what to say. She didn't know that Itachi had been the one to steer Sasuke down that path of revenge. Or maybe she did – it was hard to tell. Itachi had replayed that night in his head over and over again. He knew that he had made the right decision in accepting his mission. There was no other way to protect the village.

But Sasuke. Had he made the right decision by lying to him? Itachi was worried that if Sasuke knew the truth that he would hate Konoha for what they had done to his family. But he had abandoned the village anyway, in spite of his efforts to foster what he thought would be a loving home for him.

How would Itachi have felt if the roles had been reversed? Would he have stayed in the village? Would he have wanted revenge on Sasuke?

"I don't know," Itachi admitted.

"The night he left, I tried to stop him," Sakura said, "I confessed my love for him and offered to go with him. I'd have followed him anywhere, done anything for him."

Itachi watched her intently as she spoke. She had pressed herself back against the wall behind her bed and wrapped her arms around her knees. Her eyes were bright – she looked as though she might cry.

"But he knocked me out and left me on a bench," she continued, "He was gone when I woke up."

Itachi remained silent. This wasn't what he wanted to hear at all. He wished he hadn't taken her up on her offer to discuss Sasuke.

"I wonder sometimes if things would have been different if the massacre had never happened," she said, "if you had stayed in the village with him. He loved you so much. Maybe he would have loved me, too. If things had been different."

Her tears had finally leaked out. She wasn't sobbing. He wouldn't have known she was crying if he hadn't seen the tears fall. They left glistening trails down her cheeks. He watched one roll down her chin and land on her knee.

"Why do you love my brother so much?" he asked, "Why would you go to such extremes for him when he wouldn't do the same for you?"

"So much has happened to him," she said, "I just want him to be happy. And I know that he's a good person, deep, _deep_ down."

Itachi hoped that was true.

"I hope he comes back to you," he said, "You deserve to be happy, too."

Sakura laughed and brushed her tears away with the back of her hand, "How about I just bring you back with me instead? We can cut your hair and just pretend that you're Sasuke."

Itachi found that offer very tempting, if a little silly. Obviously he could never pass as Sasuke, nor would he want to. But he would have done anything to be able to walk back into Konoha as a welcomed man. Why is that not what Sasuke wanted too?

"I was only joking," she said with a sniffle, "Obviously I'm not going to bring a mass murderer back to Konoha with me. There are children there!" She eyed the two children sleeping on the other side of the room and then collapsed into a fit of stifled giggles, chuffed by her own joke.

"I should go," Itachi said, feeling like his new roommates would be less depressing than discussing Sasuke with Sakura.

"Wait, no," she said, "Don't leave yet."

She straightened out her legs and pulled her back up straight. "I'm sorry," she said, "I won't cry anymore. Or make offensive jokes."

Itachi stayed seated partly because he didn't really want to go back to his room, and partly because Sakura _wanted_ him to stay, which was unsettling and exciting at the same time.

"Tell me about what Sasuke was like when he was little," Sakura said. She leaned her head back against the wall and watched him. She looked a little dazed, like going from crying to laughing in the span of a few seconds wasn't something she did on a regular basis.

"He was always very eager to train with me," Itachi said, "He was always waiting by the door when I came home to beg me to train with him."

Sakura smiled.

"He wanted me to take him on missions with me," he continued.

"Aww," Sakura crooned, "He wanted to be like his big brother."

Itachi shifted in the desk chair and fixed her with a more serious gaze, "Earlier you said that you wished Sasuke was more like me. You've said that twice now."

"Oh," she said, "Well, Sasuke is just so cold all the time. Even when he's in a good mood, he's still aloof and indifferent."

She looked down in her lap and picked at her fingernails, a red blush rising up in her cheeks.

"You smiled at me earlier today," she continued, "After you told me that we aren't enemies. And I've seen you smile at Sachi plenty of times. I don't think Sasuke has ever smiled at me like that."

Itachi could recall plenty of times when Sasuke had smiled as a child. His heart clenched painfully in his chest at the realization that his brother was deeply unhappy and that it was his fault.

"Why did you do it, Itachi?" she asked, "Why did you murder your clan?"

To test his ability…

That was what Sasuke thought, because Sasuke had to think that Itachi had done it on his own volition. It was what the world should think, because any other explanation would discredit the village – would unearth its inherent cruelty. Its necessary cruelty.

There were two options. A lie that would reduce him to monster in Sakura's eyes, yet again. And the truth.

The truth was out of the question.

But Sakura had already warmed up to him (sort of). He couldn't bear to see her recoil in fear or disgust now that they were on somewhat amicable terms.

"It's complicated," he said.

She scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"Do you think I'm a monster?" he asked.

"Yeah, I do," she said, "But it was much easier to think that before I met you."

"The children's parents – their father," he said, "He's dead because of me. Because of my partner, I suppose."

"Kisame?"

He nodded. He had forgotten that she would know his partner. That she had been there that day after the tailed-beast had been extracted from the Kazekage when they fought on the same battlefield. He'd barely taken note of her that day.

"I figured you had something to do with their orphan status," Sakura admitted.

"I felt like a monster," Itachi said, "I wasn't even the one that killed him."

"Did you feel like a monster when you murdered your own family?"

Itachi paused. He really should go back to his room. He should definitely not be discussing the massacre with his brother's teammates. He should avoid Sakura as much as possible until he was able to leave. And he should try to forget that he'd ever met her once he'd gotten back to Rain.

"I'm sorry," Sakura said, "I shouldn't be antagonizing you."

He agreed, but he didn't blame her.

"You're a champ at putting up with me," she said with a smile, "I'm surprised you haven't snapped on me yet."

He half smiled at her because she was amusing and he liked her better when she was smiling and not alluding to his criminal past.

"It almost feels like we're friends, doesn't it?" she asked, "I bet we would have been."

With a pang of sadness, Itachi thought of Shisui. He had been Itachi's closest friend – he hadn't had many others. Shisui would have loved Sakura, Itachi thought. He would have made fun of her pink hair and laughed at all of her stupid jokes.

"Sakura…"

"I know, I know," she said. Itachi had a feeling that she _didn't_ know. "There's no point in thinking about it."

"You aren't my enemy right now," he said, "but we should probably avoid conversations like this in the future."

She snorted and cast him a knowing glance, "The future?"

"We have opposing goals," he said, "We'll likely see one another after this."

"Don't you think a conversation like this could get us on the same page?" she asked, "So we could have the same goal?"

"That's impossible."

"Well, what's your goal, then?" she asked.

He couldn't answer that in any capacity. Not only was he not aware of what Akatsuki's goals were, but also his own goals only pertained to Sasuke. He couldn't share that with her without her knowing the truth about the massacre.

"Right now," he said, "My only goal is to make sure that Sachi and Yamato have a safe place to live."

"That's already taken care of," she said, "Konoha, remember? They'll be safe there. At least now that there aren't any clan killers lurking around anymore."

He was used to her teasing now, and he let the comment roll off him. It was almost refreshing to hear someone speak so candidly about it. The incident had plagued his nightmares for years, causing him a great deal of stress. And yet her trivialization of it was somehow comforting instead of harrowing like it should have been.

"See?" she said, "We're on the same page already."

"I suppose we are," he said, and it was true. Obviously Sakura would want to protect Naruto – the same man that was his eventual target. But as for her personal goals, maybe they _did_ align in some way. They both loved Sasuke. That was a start.

"You're going to miss them, aren't you?"

Itachi glanced over at Sachi who was drooling a little bit onto her pillow. "Yes," he answered, "I'll miss them."

"Maybe we can arrange for you to have visitation rights."

Itachi laughed. He marveled at the fact that Sakura could coax so many smiles and laughs from him with seemingly little effort. He wasn't used to laughing so much. He'd forgotten how good it felt.

"I'll settle for knowing that they're safe and happy," he said.

"I'll make sure that they are."

Itachi pried his eyes away from Sachi and let them drift back to Sakura. She had slumped down on her bed and was blinking her eyes blearily. Her hair was a wild mess of pink that hovered disastrously around her face. Her eyes were on his, watching, maybe waiting for something.

"Itachi-san," she said. He kept his eyes locked onto hers. It was the longest they'd ever held eye contact so far. "I'm going to find out what your deal is. I'm going to figure out the truth about you."

He swallowed hard, but maintained eye contact. "How would you go about such a thing?" he asked. His voice sounded strained.

"Well," she began, slumping down further onto her bed. She looked ready to fall asleep. Itachi realized that she was probably exhausted. Come to think of it, he was pretty tired as well. "It would be easiest if you would just tell me."

"That's not going to happen."

"So you admit that there _is_ something to find out."

Itachi shifted uncomfortably.

"I'm the Hokage's apprentice," she said, "I have connections. I can do it without your help."

Inwardly, Itachi scoffed. Tsunade might have known the truth about the massacre, but he couldn't know for sure. It wasn't likely. The only person who Itachi knew for sure could tell her the truth was Danzo. The chances of him telling her were nonexistent.

"You're better off not knowing," he said, his tone much steadier this time.

"That might be true," she said, "But curiosity is a powerful thing. It's your own fault for making me so curious, you know. You should have been mean and hateful, like a good villain should be."

"Is it too late to start now?"

She laughed softly, "Yeah, it's way too late. I think the only thing that would change my mind about you now is if you killed Yamato and Sachi."

Itachi made a sound of disgust with the back of his throat. What a sordid thing for her to have brought up…

She laughed again, louder this time. "See?" she said, "How can you expect me to believe that you killed your family when you can't even stomach the idea of killing these two?"

Abruptly, Itachi stood up. He couldn't take any more of this and he was tired. He approached Sakura's bed slowly, methodically, and placed his hands on the wall on each side of her head, looming over her as threateningly as he could manage.

Leaning close to her face, close enough for him to feel her breath against his face, Itachi said, "I think you should let it go." He had kept his voice low – the voice he reserved for enemies. Sakura watched him with wide eyes, fear evident on her face. She had grown accustomed to his _niceness_ and he had grown accustomed to her sass, but things were dangerously close to being out of hand and Itachi needed to put an end to it.

He thought about activating his Sharingan for good measure, but decided against it. He didn't want her to fear him anymore than what was necessary.

"Goodnight, Sakura-san," he said, and made his way back to his room.


	9. Chapter 9

Sakura woke up feeling jittery and anxious. She didn't want to admit that the _Uchiha_ in the adjacent room had gotten under her skin, but it was the truth. She had teased him pretty ruthlessly, believing that he could handle it. The fact that he had the nerve to use such a cold intimidation tactic against evidenced that she had gotten under his skin as well.

But if he thought that meant she would cease her efforts to learn the truth, he was sorely mistaken. Something was fishy about him and his story and she'd be damned if she didn't uncover the truth. Things just didn't add up.

There was a lot about the massacre that had never been said. The general public of Konoha had been led to believe that Itachi had snapped, gone insane. But the Itachi that she knew definitely wasn't insane. At least not in a way that she could see. For a shinobi, Itachi seemed just as well adjusted as anyone could have expected him to be.

The few times Itachi had been spotted before, it had always led to some type of battle. That was expected, Sakura thought. But Itachi was lauded as one of the most skilled and dangerous shinobi. It was suspicious that he had never left a casualty. He could have killed Kakashi. He had the opportunity. He could have killed all of them back during Gaara's rescue. But he didn't.

He could have killed her when she found him outside Toyeiki. It would have been easy. He could have hidden his tracks well. No one would have known he had done it. It would have eliminated her as a potential obstacle in the future should she ever stand between him and Naruto.

Sakura was certain that there was more to Itachi than met the eye. She just needed to know the _why._

She shook herself from her thoughts and focused on the task in front of her instead. Yamato and Sachi were still sleeping soundly on their cots, so she kept as quiet as she could while she filled syringes with her vaccine. Once she had made several hundred, she could leave knowing that Toyeiki was safe. She could teach Rokuda how to make more of the vaccine, if necessary, but Sakura felt confident that now that the infection was under control that its spread would slow down and eventually die off completely.

After a couple of hours, Yamato and Sachi stirred from their slumber.

"Good morning," she said to them with a smile.

"Where is Itachi-san?"

Her smiled dropped.

"That's not a proper greeting, Yamato-chan," Sakura chided.

"Good morning, Sakura-san," he said, yawning, "Where is Itachi-san? I'm hungry."

"If you give me half an hour, I'll make you both some breakfast," she said, "I just have a few things I need to finish first."

"I'll just ask Itachi-san," he replied.

"No," she snapped, "He's probably still sleeping. Just be patient and I'll get you some food soon enough."

He pouted at her and crossed his arms, but said nothing else. Sachi looked warily between Sakura and her brother, but she, too, remained silent.

After a tense half hour of silence, Sakura took Yamato and Sachi down to the kitchen. Mercifully, it was empty. She fixed them some scrambled eggs and watched as they picked at them. Sakura wasn't hungry.

The children were likely to be in a sour mood once Itachi was gone. They really enjoyed his company, it seemed. She would have to have a talk with them about keeping quiet about Itachi once they were in Konoha.

Sakura was deeply worried that the children would somehow spoil her little secret. No one could know that she had teamed up with an s-class missing-nin, and children were notorious for not being the best at keeping secrets. Sakura made a mental note to ask Itachi if there was any sort of genjutsu he could place them under that would make them forget about him.

"This isn't as good as Itachi-san's," Yamato said, pushing his eggs around his plate.

"Well, I don't have fancy Sharingan to help me learn techniques," she said, miffed, "This is the best I can do."

Yamato dropped his fork. "Sakura-san!" he said, "Can Itachi-san show me his Sharingan today? You said he could when he was feeling better, and you made him not sick anymore, right?"

"Yeah, I did…" she said, "I guess that would be alright. If Itachi-san agrees."

"Yes!" he exclaimed, jumping down from his perch at the table, "I'll go find him right now."

"No, finish your food first."

"I'll eat later."

"I thought you said you were hungry."

"That was before," Yamato said, "I'm not hungry anymore."

Sakura narrowed her eyes at him skeptically. "Fine," she conceded, "Let's go find Itachi-san."

.

After searching the entire inn, Yamato, Sachi, and Sakura found Itachi in the garden throwing shuriken at small targets he had set up everywhere. Sakura held Yamato's hand in hers while she watched Itachi nail every target with practiced ease. Sachi fidgeted on her hip and let out a whimper. It didn't take a genius to know that she wanted to be put down so that Itachi could pick her up.

But Sakura held onto the girl until it was obvious that Itachi was finished throwing his shuriken. Not that she expected an errant shuriken to hit her – Itachi didn't throw errant shuriken.

"Itachi-san!" Yamato yelled across the garden, "Sakura-san said you could show me your Sharingan now."

Itachi crossed the garden, eyeing Sakura with suspicion. "Did she now?" he asked. His tone was light, but his eyes were dark and serious.

"Yes," she answered confidently, in spite of the nervousness she felt at being so close to him after the previous night's incident, "I was wondering if there was a specific jutsu you could show them that would help them with their tongues once we're in Konoha."

"Their tongues…?"

"You know," she said, "So they don't go telling the entire village about their super cool Uncle Itachi."

Itachi blinked and Sakura had the impression that he had never thought of that before.

"I suppose I could place them under a genjutsu," he said, "But I'm not sure how effective that will be long term."

"You shouldn't have given them your real name."

"Yes, I agree," he said. His eyes were sharp on her. "But it's too late now."

"Itachi-san," Sachi said, reaching her arms out for the man.

Grudgingly, Sakura passed the girl over to him. Itachi took her with a genuine and disarming smile and hugged her close.

Sakura felt uncomfortable around Itachi now, and was unsure of what to do. She needed to be working on his autoimmune disease because the faster she got that done and out of the way, the quicker she could get home.

And Ino was supposed to arrive back any day now. She'd be annoyed that Sakura had come up with a vaccine without her help, but Sakura was interested to know what the blonde had dug up in her investigation.

"Alright," Itachi said, "Do you want to see my Sharingan now?"

He was looking at Yamato, who was bouncing up and down with excitement. There was no doubt in Sakura's mind that Itachi would never do anything to hurt either of them, but she was still nervous at the prospect of seeing them put under the Sharingan's effects.

"Wait," Sakura said, hating how her voice sounded small and scared, "What are you going to do to them?"

Itachi cocked his head to the side and gave her a bemused look. "I'm not going to hurt them," he said, "I'm going to put them under my Tsukuyomi, but they will be fine."

"Tsukuyomi…" Sakura repeated slowly.

"Yes," he continued, "I can put you under it as well. If you are curious."

She shook her head vehemently and took a step back.

"I thought not."

He turned back to the children and crouched down in front of Yamato. His eyes bled to red, the Mangekyo that she had studied before in Kakashi's eye. Sakura moved to stand behind him so that she couldn't see his eyes. She watched Yamato.

"This won't hurt," he said to Yamato.

Sakura watched as Yamato's eyes widened and then glazed over, glassy and unfocused. He looked as though he was about to fall over, but Itachi held him up with a hand on his shoulder.

He eased Yamato into a sitting position and then turned to Sachi. Sachi shifted her eyes between Yamato and Itachi hesitantly.

"I won't do it if you don't want me to," he said to her.

She took a step toward him, letting her hips bump into his knees. Sakura saw him smile at her and he placed his fingers against her chin. Sachi's eyes glazed over like Yamato's and she slumped forward. Itachi caught her and eased her down next to Yamato.

"See?" Itachi said, "If two children can be brave, so can you."

"It's not quite the same, is it, Itachi-san?" she asked, "They don't know the real you. They have no reason to be afraid of you."

"I don't blame you for being afraid of me," he said, "But you don't really need to be."

Sakura gave him a pointed look because she really didn't believe him, even though he made it feel like he was telling the truth. She wasn't a fool, in spite of what anyone else might think if they knew that she had joined forces with the infamous Itachi Uchiha.

"What's happening to them?" she asked, changing the subject.

"I put them on a beach," Itachi said, "I find beaches calming. I figured they might, too. They've been through a lot, losing both their parents."

Sakura said nothing. She wouldn't know what that feels like and she didn't want to think about what Itachi felt about "losing" his parents.

"I am with them," he said, "They aren't alone there. Not that anything could happen to them without my manipulation. I thought you might want to know."

"Are they together?"

"No," he answered, "I've never tried to put two people under the same genjutsu together. Maybe I'll try it someday. Not on them, though. I don't know what might happen. I don't want to hurt them."

"Right," she answered, not knowing what else to say.

Itachi sat down next to Yamato and Sachi and stretched himself out in the grass. He deactivated his Sharingan and looked up at the sky. It was the most relaxed – vulnerable – Sakura had ever seen him.

"I'd like to work on your autoimmune disease today," Sakura said. She felt more relaxed now that he had deactivated his Sharingan. "My partner should be back soon, and obviously you can't be here."

"I need to leave soon anyway," he said, but there was a wistfulness in his tone.

"Not looking forward to getting back to work, huh?" she asked.

He gave her a reproachful look.

"Your autoimmune disease isn't as complicated as you might think," Sakura said, glancing down into her lap. "There's a lot of inflammation, and obviously you are susceptible to infectious diseases. I can take care of the inflammation and I can stop your body from fighting against itself, but you will need to be very careful to avoid getting sick for several months after I've finished. It might cause your body to revert back to the way it was. It's fixable, but not if I can't get to you, and it's not likely that we'll meet again in an amicable way. So just be careful."

"I wouldn't expect you to fix me again if I get sick," he said, "That's beyond the scope of our agreement."

"Well, you've made me plenty of meals since you got here," she said flippantly, "I probably owe you for that. I'd have been eating gruel this whole time otherwise."

Itachi tore his eyes away from the sky and fixed her with a curious stare. His eyes were their usual coal black, but there was an intensity to them that made Sakura blush and look away from him.

"And you helped me with the patients," Sakura continued, "And Rokuda told me you helped her with her garden."

He dropped back down to his elbows and looked back at the sky.

"That was more than what we agreed on," she said.

"You were the one who said that it almost felt like we were friends," he said. His voice was quiet, almost nervous.

"Almost," she agreed, "But we aren't."

"We might have been."

"But we aren't."

They both fell silent. Sakura turned at looked at Yamato and Sachi who were both still glassy-eyed and unmoving. She wondered what it felt like to be in his Tsukuyomi – if they would feel somehow different after the genjutsu was lifted.

"Are you sure you don't want me to show it to you?" he asked.

"Please," she said, "I don't want to."

He nodded and a small smile tugged at the corners of his lips. "I won't force it on you," he said, "I just thought you might be curious."

"Why do you want me to see it so much?"

"It can be just as pleasant as it is painful," he explained, "I can show you whatever your deepest desire is. I can show you whatever you ask me to."

"You presume a lot to think I trust you with that information."

"What information?"

She blushed. "My deepest desires."

"Maybe," he conceded, "I'll admit that I am curious, though, about what someone like you desires."

"Someone like me…"

"I won't ask you," he said.

"But that's why you want to use it on me," she said, putting two and two together, "So you can sate your curiosity."

"It's not a pressing matter," he answered, "Just a fleeting thought. I respect that you don't trust me with that _information._ "

She scowled at the inflection of the last word – the way he stretched the syllables and teased her with them. He had no right to be curious about such a thing, if curiosity could be considered a right. This is how Sakura reminded herself that being friendly and being friends were not anywhere near the same thing. She wouldn't hesitate to tell Naruto her desires.

But Itachi would never have that privilege.

"Do you trust me?" Sakura asked him. She could play this game, too. She could flip the tables on him.

"Wholly, no," he answered with a patronizing smile, "But in some ways, I do."

"What ways?"

"I trust that you will take care of Yamato and Sachi," he said after a moment of consideration, "And I trust that you will heal me completely as you promised."

Sakura didn't respond, unsure of how to continue his game because she didn't fully understand what he meant by all of it.

"Trust is a fickle thing, isn't it?" he mused.

She pressed her lips together in a thin line and let her eyelids fall shut. She didn't think trust was fickle at all, but she wouldn't tell him that.

"I'll never understand you," Sakura said, "You are, without a doubt, the most confusing man I have ever met."

He regarded her with scrutiny, his brow furrowed. "I'm not as complicated as you make it seem," he said, "I'm no more confusing than any other man."

She hummed thoughtfully. "Maybe Kakashi is more confusing than you," she said, "He certainly has his moments." She was speaking to herself more than him, but he was still watching her with interest.

"Your sensei?"

Sakura nodded, but she didn't want to talk about Kakashi or anyone else on Team Seven.

"That's enough lazing around," she said, "Let's get to work now. Can you snap them out of it?" She gestured to the children.

Itachi sighed – hardly noticeable, but Sakura caught it.

.

Itachi sat on Sakura's bed and he seemed to be in a bad mood. Sakura had pulled up her desk chair in front of the bed and placed her hands in their usual spot on his chest to work on the inflammation in Itachi's heart and lungs.

Yamato and Sachi sat on their cots, Sachi with a stack of books that she casually flicked through as though she could read them and Yamato twirling his kunai again. Sakura was impressed by their patience. They had not complained very much about being holed up in a nasty inn for several days without anything to do. She herself was annoyed by how much time she had spent here.

Sakura worked in silence, because efficiency was important at a time like this when Ino would be back any day now and Itachi Uchiha was sitting casually on her bed like he belonged there.

The inn had been cleared of patients once again, and Itachi's room was empty. It probably came as a great relief to him. He seemed to value his privacy. But when he had released the genjutsu from Yamato and Sachi and carried their fatigued bodies up the stairs, it was Sakura's room that he entered instead of his own.

Sakura didn't complain because it was preferable to be in her office where all of her things were. But still, she thought, he shouldn't have presumed that it was acceptable to use her personal bed in such a manner.

And on top of that, he was scowling, _sulking_ , for whatever reason. Sakura had an idea of what his problem might be. She suspected that he had been enjoying their conversation in the garden and she had cut it short. It had been dangerous territory again, because conversation about trust shouldn't be had between two enemies unless there was an exchange of it – and there should _not_ be an exchange of it.

Yet here they were, irrefutably exchanging it. Sakura had her hands on his chest, her chakra in his heart and lungs. She could kill him if she wanted to. She could slow his heart down until it stopped completely. She could increase the inflammation in his lungs until he couldn't breathe. Itachi was trusting her, and she had given him every reason to.

If Sakura wracked her brain hard enough, she would find plenty of negative consequences for this. She knew that this was a very bad thing she had done – striking a deal with Itachi (and even worse, allowing this trust between them).

But really, there was no better way the situation could have gone. No one was hurt. Sakura didn't have to fight Itachi (a fight she was sure to have lost), and Itachi was no longer the sole caretaker of two orphaned children. Everyone got what they wanted. Sakura was even able to come up with a vaccine thanks to the criminal on her bed, so it wasn't like she could be too ungrateful.

There was no denying how odd it felt, though.

"Sakura," Itachi breathed, leaning forward slightly. His voice was labored and airy, and Sakura didn't miss how he had dropped the suffix from her name. "I feel better than I have in years. You undersold your medical prowess."

"Nonsense," she said, pushing lightly on his chest so that he was no longer leaning forward toward her, "I did the same thing those pills of yours do. I'm just better at it than they are."

She rolled her chair away from the bed and back toward her desk, inwardly pleased to hear the compliment from him. Back home, everyone took her medical skill for granted. Itachi probably wasn't used to medical care of this caliber.

"Speaking of your pills," she said, snatching an orange bottle from the shelf beside her desk, "I've got some for you here. Take one of these a day until they run out. They should last you a couple of month. Do not take more than one within twenty-four hours. These aren't like the ones you had before."

She turned back to Itachi, extending the pill bottle to him. He took it and put it in his pocket.

"It really is a miracle you're still alive," she said, "You must have been in so much pain all the time. Breathing must have been difficult for you, but you never showed it. Your resilience is astounding."

He didn't say anything, but Sakura could see the cogs whirling in his head.

"You're lucky you found me, Itachi-san," she continued, "You wouldn't have lived for much longer. If you had contracted a respiratory infection you definitely would have died."

He was silent, watching her with a detached interest. His mind was obviously very far away. Sakura felt a tinge of irritation deep in her chest, but she brushed it away quickly. She had no idea what he was going through right now. Maybe he had no clue how close to death he really had been.

"Itachi-san…" she started. His eyes seemed to focus on her more sharply, caught by the note of hesitancy that was strung in her voice. "Are you alright?"

"I don't know."

"You're spacing out on me."

He blinked rapidly and brought his palm to the back of his neck. Sakura watched as he stretched his arms high above his head and then moved them behind his back. He rolled his head side to side and took several deep breaths. He then stood up from the bed, forcing Sakura to roll her chair backwards a few inches. He bent forward and placed his hands on the ground and then pulled himself up into a handstand.

Sakura wanted to laugh, and it wouldn't have been at his expense necessarily, but she didn't want to offend him so she stayed quiet.

Itachi took several steps forward with his hands, earning some applause from both Yamato and Sachi. He dropped his feet back to the ground and spun to face Sakura.

"I've never felt this strong before," he said. He was grinning widely at her and it was almost unsettling, how happy he looked. He took a step toward Sakura, who shrunk farther back into her chair. "I didn't even realize how much pain I was in."

"It must have been awful," she said, grinning back at him because she couldn't help herself and his smile was so infectious. "You have some incredible pain tolerance to have been able to continue on as you have for so long."

He took another step toward her and reached out for her hand. Her instinct was to jerk her hand away from him, but she forced herself to let him hold it. He caught her fingers and yanked her up out of the chair.

In that moment, Sakura realized that she might have made a mistake. He was a lot stronger now, and probably felt more clarity in terms of shinobi instincts than he ever had before. She might have been able to take him in his weakened state, but there was no way she could last even a minute against the man the way he was now.

But he wasn't attacking her. He pulled her against his chest the way she had seen him do with Sachi so many times. He nearly crushed her with his new strength, but he didn't seem to notice. He simply held her close.

"Thank you," he whispered into her hair.

She stayed there for several seconds, enjoying the heat of his body and the way he seemed truly grateful to her in a way that no one else had ever expressed before.

And if she chose to dwell on it a little longer, she supposed that it was nice to be held by an attractive man (and denying his attractiveness would be ridiculous since he looked so similar to Sasuke).

"That's enough," she said, taking the biggest backwards step she could manage.

He was still smiling when they broke apart. "I'm sorry," he said, "I should have asked for permission first."

Sakura laughed at the absurdity of it all – that an s-class criminal should ask for permission to hug her. It was surreal – all of it was.

Before she could respond, Sakura felt a spike of chakra in the distance – a familiar signature. Ino. Itachi must have noticed too, because she felt his signature immediately dissipate as he masked it.

"Shit," Sakura said, "I didn't think she'd be back so soon."

"It's alright, Sakura," he said, "I can leave now. You've done more than enough for me. I won't hold you up any longer. You're done here in Toyeiki, yes?"

"Wait, no," she said, a note of panic rising in her voice, "I'm not done with you, yet. If you get sick again you'll be right back where you were before. In all that pain. And I promised that I'd heal you completely. That was our deal."

He gave her a disapproving look, but didn't argue. "What do you suppose we do, then?" he asked.

"If she came back so soon she must have found something," Sakura said, "Let me see what she found out before you go. We can make a plan after we have all the information."

He nodded in agreement.

"Take Yamato and Sachi into their old room and stay there with them until I come back," she ordered.

He crouched down and held out his arms for Sachi, who excitedly bounded into them. Yamato rolled his eyes and followed closely behind her.

"I'll try to keep her away from you," Sakura said, "But just use a henge if she gets too close."

Itachi fixed a sharp eye on her. "I know how to avoid detection," he said.

She blushed. "Yeah, sorry," she said, "Maybe you should be the one giving orders, eh?"

He shook his head with amusement, which struck Sakura oddly and left her feeling warmth spread through her chest that definitely should not have been there. She ignored it, pushed it aside, and went downstairs to greet Ino.

Nervously, Sakura busied herself in the lobby, pretending to gather linens, touching things in general, trying to look as if she was doing something. She couldn't sense Itachi upstairs, even knowing that he was there, so that brought her some relief. Ino probably wasn't astute enough to sense him anyway.

Ino burst through the front door, gasping for breath.

"Sakura!" she exclaimed, panting. She tossed her pack onto the nearest cot and collapsed down beside it. "I've got some really bad news."


	10. Chapter 10

Itachi was a fool and he knew it. He should be well on his way back to Rain right now and instead he was hiding in an inn-turned-sanctuary with one child on his knee and another leaning against his side.

He tried to listen to Sakura and her partner downstairs, but he couldn't hear without the aid of chakra. He was nervous, of course, because getting caught wasn't just a matter of life and death anymore. Sakura's suspicion was troubling enough – he couldn't bank on _two_ people keeping their heads down about him. If the truth came out…

Well, what if it did? He pushed the thought away as quickly as it had come. He couldn't think about that now.

"Itachi-san," Yamato said, "When will I get to start my ninja training? I'm not getting any younger, you know."

Itachi shushed the boy and tried to listen for any movement downstairs. To his knowledge, there were no other people in the inn with them.

Yamato huffed noisily next to him. Sachi breathed too loudly, hiccupping occasionally.

Itachi had been four when the Third Great Shinobi War ended. Sachi couldn't have been much younger than that, but he would never have thought a girl so young would be capable of handling such trauma. Had he ever been like her? So innocent and endearing in a way that only little kids can be?

No, he was a born killer, a natural shinobi. Being a child was never an option. He had only been eleven when he joined ANBU – close to Yamato's age. He had been thirteen when he left the village after the single worst mission of his entire life.

He had the urge to tell Yamato to give up that dream, to find a new one. Itachi would give anything to have lived a different life. He was a pacifist at heart – yet forever branded as a cold-hearted murderer. He couldn't change that now, nor would he have if he could go back in time. His sacrifices were necessary for the peace of Konoha.

But Yamato… He had a chance to live whatever life he wanted. He could be anything, do anything. He could go anywhere. He was free to be friends with whomever he chose. His life was a blank canvas.

Itachi didn't want to admit that he was jealous. He'd been jealous before, but it had never felt so intense before. He wished he could say that it had nothing to do with the pink-haired woman downstairs, but he knew better. She was a taste of what his life could have been like, and instead of staying here with him, she was going back to Konoha and taking Yamato and Sachi with her.

It was painful to think about her now. He had _hugged_ her, which was an unforgivable mistake, but he couldn't say that he regretted it. Really, when would he ever get the chance to hug someone like that again? Probably never. He'd hug Sachi and maybe Yamato when they parted. But would he ever hug a grown woman again? Would he hug Sasuke?

He didn't know why the thought of physical affection was somehow so important to him now. He certainly hadn't thought much about it in the past. Maybe because he'd grown accustomed to it in the last week and he knew that soon it would all be over. He didn't realize how much he had missed it. He would probably crave it again once he was back in Rain.

He closed his eyes and sucked in a deep breath. _I'm doing this for Sasuke._

He heard Sakura's footsteps as she walked down the hall. She was alone. Itachi shifted Sachi out of his lap onto the bed and stood up, ready to help Sakura in any way that he could.

"Itachi-san," she said as she opened the door. Her face was red and she looked worried, almost panicked. "We've got trouble."

He furrowed his brow and watched as she scooped up Sachi and grabbed Yamato's hand and headed straight for her office. Itachi followed her, matching her pace. She began stuffing Sachi and Yamato's things into her pack.

"What's going on?" Itachi asked.

"Ino – my partner – she found patient zero," Sakura said, "She traced him back to Kabuto."

Kabuto. Orochimaru's lackey. Was he responsible for the infection?

"Where is he?" Itachi asked.

"He's on his way here!" Sakura shrieked, still flying around her office, grabbing her belongings and stuffing them into her pack. "Ino found him in an underground bunker several days north west, in Fire Country. She confronted him, that idiot, and he admitted to creating the infection himself – an experiment."

"An experiment…" Itachi repeated, "And he's on his way here? Why?"

"He had to have known I was here working on a cure," she said, "It was in all the papers. Everyone knew. Ino said he _wanted_ me to figure out a cure. Me!"

"I still don't understand," Itachi said.

"I don't either, Itachi-san," she said, "But I know he's on his way here specifically to find me and I really don't want to be here when he arrives. I don't think I could take him – especially not while Yamato and Sachi are here."

"Do you think he wants to fight you?" Itachi asked. That didn't make sense. Kabuto, from what he remembered of the man, was more interested in learning new tricks than winning needless battles.

"I don't know," Sakura answered, "But I don't want to find out. I'm heading back to Konoha now. Ino went ahead of me, and she sent for backup."

"So you're going to try to outrun him while traveling with two children?" Itachi asked. He couldn't keep the irritation out of his voice. How stupid could she be? If she couldn't fight him then she couldn't outrun him either. Not like this.

"What other choice do I have?"

"Sakura," Itachi snapped.

She paused in her movements and raised a brow at him.

"You're panicking," he said, "You need to take a step back and think about your next move. You can't outrun him with two kids with you. Your partner has called for backup already. You don't know what he wants with you."

She took a deep breath in and held it for a second before releasing it. "You're right," she said, "What should I do?"

Itachi didn't know. He really shouldn't be getting involved in her affairs anyway. But while Yamato and Sachi were still around, it was technically his affair too. Their safety was his first priority.

He was confident that he could handle Kabuto – especially with the way he felt now after Sakura had healed him. But Kabuto was Orochimaru's minion and Sasuke was very closely tied in with all of this, if his most recent information regarding his whereabouts were correct.

If Sasuke had indeed killed Orochimaru then what was Kabuto doing now? And where had Sasuke gone?

The uncertainties were mounted against them.

"I think you should stay here and see what Kabuto wants," Itachi advised. They needed more information. Kabuto would have answers about Sasuke, too, which was a bonus for Itachi.

"If he's looking for a fight…" Sakura said, trailing off uncertainly.

Itachi hadn't seen what Sakura was capable of on the battlefield, but he doubted that her battle skills were up to par if she felt so determined not to fight Kabuto, who, by Itachi's standards, wasn't an exceptionally skilled shinobi. He had talent, definitely. But he wasn't anywhere near the top.

"I'll stay with you," Itachi offered, "I'll stay hidden until you need me."

"What?" she snapped, "No, absolutely not."

"Why not?"

"I thought you had somewhere to be."

"Yamato and Sachi take precedent over that."

She paused, considering that. Her eyes darted over to Yamato and Sachi, who were still standing by the door watching them with frightened eyes.

"You can't be here when my backup arrives."

"I'll stay out of the way," he answered, "I'll leave quietly when they arrive."

"What if you have to fight Kabuto?" she asked, "How will I explain that to them?"

"Should it come to that," he began, "You may take credit for my handiwork."

"I don't think this is a good idea."

Itachi wanted to shake her. It may not be prudent to stay here with her, but he sure as hell wasn't going to leave her and the children unprotected. Besides, Kabuto would have answers for him and he couldn't pass that opportunity up.

"What if I intercept him?" he asked.

"Why would you do that?"

"It will give you more time to get away," he said, "Your backup will be able to catch up with you before he finds you." _And I can get the information I need from him._

"What's in it for you?"

"Yamato and Sachi will be safe."

Sakura looked at the children again, skepticism painting her features. Itachi didn't know why she didn't believe him. If there was one thing she had learned about him during their time together it was that he cared about those kids. She didn't need to know the other reason he wanted to find Kabuto. It was irrelevant.

"I thought you wanted me to find out what he wanted from me."

"It's your choice, Sakura," he said, "This is your mission."

"My opinion," she started, and her voice was full of _sass_ , "Is that you should leave now and let me handle this on my own. I'm sorry I couldn't heal you fully, but I'm already in hot water for taking so long on this mission. It won't do me any good if someone discovers I enlisted help from Konoha's most wanted list."

"I'm not leaving until I know they're going to be safe."

"You have my word, Itachi-san," she said, gritting her teeth, "I will make sure they are safe."

"I don't trust you."

"And _I_ don't trust _you._ "

He didn't answer right away because he was annoyed and he didn't want to snap at her. If she was determined to do this on her own, he could let her think that. He could pretend to leave and then stay to make sure she and the kids were fine. If she chose to stay and wait for Kabuto, he could wait with her and find him after they spoke – or protect her if it came to that.

And if she chose to leave and go back to Konoha, he could intercept Kabuto anyway and she would be none the wiser.

"Fine," Itachi said, "I'll leave. But at least tell me what you plan to do."

She refocused her attention on the various journals and scrolls on her desk and began shuffling them together neatly.

"I'll stay," she said, sweeping the pile off her desk and into her pack, "And hope that he doesn't want to hurt me."

"And what if he does?"

"I'll figure something out," she said, "But I want to know why he did this. I want to know why he would to do something so vile. Hundreds of people are dead because of him. Civilians – not even shinobi!"

Itachi didn't think there was a point in finding out that particular truth, but he kept his mouth shut. This was Sakura's mission.

"Sakura," he said. She paused and looked up at him. Immediately she looked back down at the floor, an angry scowl marring her features. He realized that he had inadvertently activated his Sharingan. "Are you sure you want me to leave? Do you really want to be alone when he gets here?"

"You being here is worse than being alone, isn't it?" she demanded, "Because then I'll have two enemies instead of one."

"We are temporary allies."

"We _were_ temporary allies," she countered, "But our agreement has been fulfilled to the best of my abilities. We have no reason to continue this arrangement."

"The safety of Yamato and Sachi was a condition of our agreement," he said tersely, "A condition that has not yet been met."

"If you stay, you will be staying as an enemy," she warned, "not as an ally."

He crossed his arms and resisted the urge to huff. It had been a very long time since he had felt this annoyed. She was being needlessly stubborn and she knew it.

But he was in no position to argue with her. They were not in this together. She had every reason to distrust him – in fact, it was probably wise that she did.

"Fine _,_ I will leave now."

She nodded curtly and continued to pack. Itachi crouched down near Yamato and Sachi and pulled them both into a hug – the last one he'd give for a long time.

"You will be safe with Sakura," he said, running his fingers over Sachi's nose. She scrunched her face up like she was going to cry and buried her face in his shoulder.

"You're leaving us?" Yamato asked. Even he was holding onto Itachi, his chin resting on the man's other shoulder.

"I have to," Itachi answered, "But everything will be fine. You'll be on your way to Konoha soon, and you'll start your ninja training. Isn't that what you want?"

Yamato didn't answer, and Itachi swore that he heard to boy sniffle, but when he pulled back his eyes were dry. Sachi, on the other hand, was in full-blown tears. She sobbed pitifully into Itachi's chest. Itachi wrapped his arms around her and swallowed hard.

He attempted to stand up, but Sachi held onto him. He picked her up and held her against him, turning to face Sakura.

Sakura was watching him with tears in her own eyes, which amused Itachi in spite of the heavy weight of the moment.

"Are you crying?"

"No," she said, no trace of emotion in her voice, "Now get out of here."

He set Sachi down and was gone by the time she had started crying again.

.

Annoyed wasn't an emotion that Itachi often felt. Feeling it now was distracting, like a fly that buzzed around his face just when he thought it had flown away. He wasn't used to being dismissed. Sure, he had orders from Akatsuki's leader, and at times he found his situation frustrating. He didn't _want_ to carry out his orders. It was a necessity.

But Sakura was an entirely different case. She was not as a good a shinobi as he was. She didn't have all of the knowledge he had. She didn't know what was best for her. She was still practically a child. And she had the nerve to reject his help.

It may have been his own fault. He had grown to trust her (at least a little bit) and even like her somewhat. He had grown comfortable around her and found her company to be pleasant. It was no mystery why she wouldn't feel the same way. She was a good, loyal shinobi who was dedicated to her village and bound by duty to protect it.

And he was a monster who had abandoned his village and destroyed his own family.

It still didn't ease the pain of her rejection. If she wanted to handle things on her own, he wouldn't stop her from trying.

Against his better judgment, Itachi found himself perched in a tall tree just outside town. His chakra was masked and his Sharingan was activated. Now he would just have to wait.

He should be on his way back to Rain. He should have been on his way back days ago. Now, though, he wasn't so sure that he even wanted to go back. He never really wanted to join Akatsuki in the first place. It had been the easiest choice – a simple way to keep tabs on Sasuke.

But he still didn't know where Sasuke was. Going back to Rain would likely only take him further away from him.

Sasuke was hell-bent on killing Itachi. So why had he not come yet? What was he waiting for? He had killed Orochimaru already. Did he not feel that he had enough power yet?

Truthfully, Itachi didn't think Sasuke could kill him at his full strength. He had planned to let Sasuke win anyway – after testing his limits, of course – but now that Sakura had fixed him up so nicely, he wasn't craving death like he used to.

That thought was too morbid for Itachi to linger on, so he focused on his surroundings instead. In the distance he could hear a flock of birds. Nothing else. Kabuto wasn't close, as far as he could tell.

On his right he could just barely make out the outline of the town. He wondered if Sachi was still crying.

.

It seemed that Kabuto had given Sakura a generous head start because it wasn't until well into the evening that he finally meandered into Toyeiki. Itachi watched from his perch in the tree as Kabuto sauntered into town with a disturbing confidence and a pep in his step.

Itachi assumed this meant that he did not intend to harm Sakura (and by extension, the children), but he lingered around anyway, just in case. He followed Kabuto to the inn where Sakura greeted him outside.

She was dressed in her full gear and Itachi knew that she likely had all of her weapons readily available. He hadn't seen her like that since the day he'd first met her. She still didn't look much like a kunoichi – not with that pink hair.

Itachi found himself hiding on the roof of the inn. Sakura and Kabuto would be unable to see him unless they stepped far back away from the inn, which suited him perfectly. He could still peer over the edge to see them if he chose, but instead he shrunk away from the edge of the roof and listened to their exchange.

"Kabuto, it's so good to see you," Sakura said. Her sarcasm was subtle in tone, but obvious enough that Itachi wanted to roll his eyes. "I haven't seen you since the chuunin exams."

"Glad to see you're in good spirits, Sakura," he said, "I'm sure your friend told you about my experiment by now."

"She did."

"You created a vaccine for it," Kabuto said with a hint of admiration, "Not only that, but you found a way to cure the infection by using chakra to burn off the bacteria. That's quite impressive."

"Why don't you just cut to the chase?" Sakura demanded.

"I'm sure you're aware that Sasuke has killed Orochimaru."

"It's a shame he didn't kill you, too."

Itachi winced. She had seemed so determined to avoid a fight, yet she was egging him on with fervor. It didn't seem practical from a shinobi standpoint and it irritated Itachi that she didn't understand that.

But Kabuto ignored the remark. "I've taken it upon myself to continue Orochimaru's line of work."

"His experiments, you mean," Sakura said.

"Exactly," he answered, "The infection was my own personal experiment. I'd been working on it independently, long before Orochimaru was killed. My purpose was to create something that could be used as a sort of biological warfare."

Sakura was silent. Itachi wondered if she had made a face at the bespectacled man.

"You're aware that I failed in that my infection did not affect shinobi," Kabuto said, "In fact, chakra was supposed to be the means by which it spread. I'm curious to know what was in your vaccine."

"How did you know about the vaccine?" she asked, "And how I used chakra to burn off the bacteria?"

Itachi heard a rustle of movement. "The vaccine I heard about from the paper this morning. The innkeeper here was all too eager to share that information. Understandably so."

"And the alternative fix?"

"I had a plant," he explained, "One of your nurses."

Itachi swallowed hard. He had met one of the nurses. Would she be able to identify him? He couldn't leave any more loose ends than he already had. It was too risky.

"I sent Kira here when I knew that you had accepted the mission," Kabuto said, "I was curious to see how you would do with the little information that you had."

"That's why Kira left," Sakura said, "To report back to you."

"Yes."

"So was Amika a plant, too?"

"Just Kira."

"Why go through all this effort?" Sakura asked.

"The effort to create the infection was obvious," Kabuto explained, "It's a powerful weapon to have at my disposal. My failure, though, was unexpected. I still don't quite understand why the infection wasn't able to affect shinobi."

Sakura made an irritated noise with the back of her throat.

"The effort I spent on you, though," Kabuto continued, "Was a way to mitigate my failure – turn it into a different kind of success. You, Sakura, have incredible skill."

Itachi didn't like where this was going.

"What do you want, Kabuto?" she asked.

"I want you to join me," he implored, "and be my apprentice."

There it was. Itachi held his breath for a moment. He was sure Sakura would reject the offer. He had no doubts about her loyalty to Konoha. But inwardly, Itachi wondered if such an arrangement would be good for Sakura. There would be many things she could learn from Kabuto.

"I can teach you more than Tsunade ever could," Kabuto said, "Offensive medical justu you've never dreamed of, all of the things you can do to a person with a single touch. I assure you, I have plenty of things to share with you if you're willing to help me out as well."

"I'd rather infect myself with your disease and let it kill me."

Kabuto chuckled. "You have a sharp tongue, Sakura."

"You don't know anything about me if you think that I'd willingly help you with anything," she said, venom dripping from her voice, "You're a piece of human garbage."

"Now, now, Sakura," Kabuto chided, "No need for name-calling."

Itachi didn't like the way Sakura's name rolled off Kabuto tongue. He was condescending and teasing and made Itachi feel uneasy.

"I _do_ know things about you," he continued, "You know that. I know that you have an unwavering loyalty to Sasuke. Don't you?"

Sakura did not reply.

"Sasuke never really gave you any attention, did he? He never appreciated you or your talents."

Itachi peered over the edge of the roof and saw Sakura clenching her fists at her side. She was unusually pale and her face was contorted into a deep scowl.

"I heard that Sasuke was forming a team to go kill his brother," Kabuto said.

Itachi's heart jumped in his chest. He slid back away from the edge of the roof and out of sight again.

"He wanted a medic, and he didn't choose you."

"I wouldn't have been on his team even if he had asked me," Sakura snapped. Itachi was eerily comforted by that. If it were true that Sasuke had formed a team in order to kill him, he wouldn't have wanted Sakura to be on that team.

"You want me to believe that you don't have feelings for him anymore?" Kabuto asked.

"That has nothing to do with this."

"If you join me I can help you grow. I can make you stronger. I can make you a better ninja. Sasuke will have to see what a true shinobi you've become. He'll respect you. He'll acknowledge you. Isn't that what you want?"

"Like I said, Kabuto," Sakura replied, spitting the man's name like a curse, "You don't know me. The only thing I want is for Sasuke to come back home."

"That's not the only thing you want, Sakura," he replied, spitting her name back at her, "You _do_ want to be stronger. You wouldn't have asked Tsunade if you could be her apprentice otherwise."

Sakura said nothing.

"I can teach you more than she ever could."

"I highly doubt that."

"Just think it over," Kabuto said, "I'd hate to see all your talent go to waste."

Itachi heard another rustle of movement and then silence. He peered over the edge of the roof again and saw Sakura standing in front of the inn alone. Her fists were still clenched tight at her sides but the scowl on her face had melted into something much sadder and vulnerable.

She put her face into her hands and began to cry.


	11. Chapter 11

Sakura didn't know why she was crying. Well, she sort of did. Kabuto had asked her to be his apprentice. He had sought her out specifically. Surely that was enough reason. It didn't necessarily make her sad, but it was overwhelming and unwanted all the same.

Not to mention that he had brought up Sasuke, too. As if wasn't already hard enough to keep her mind off him – especially after having spent way more time than acceptable with his murderous older brother.

Kabuto told her that Sasuke had formed a team to kill his brother. She didn't want to think about why that caused her so much grief. But it also meant that Sasuke was one step closer to coming home. Surely after he had killed Itachi he wouldn't have anything more pressing to do. He would come back to her, back to Naruto at least.

Sakura brushed the tears away from her face and straightened her posture. Her mission was now over and her duty was to honor the deal she made with Itachi. She'd get the children back to Konoha and then be done with the entire situation.

She spent the next two hours with Sachi on her back and Yamato's hand on her apron loop. Itachi had been right – she would never have been able to outrun anyone with these kids in tow. Sachi weighed a million pounds and Yamato struggled to keep up with her, even at her slow pace.

She couldn't blame him – he was carrying Sachi's pack in addition to his own. Apparently they gained a lot of possessions while staying in Toyeiki. It was difficult for her to have both Sachi and her own pack, so she imagined he wasn't feeling like a spring chicken either.

"Let me know if you need to take a break, Yamato," Sakura said. The boy shook his head and took bigger strides to match hers.

At this rate it would take them at least a week to reach Konoha, maybe longer. Kabuto had disappeared after their conversation, but she couldn't be sure that he wasn't following her. Even if he wasn't, there were still many other dangers involved in traveling with children. She would need to be very careful to avoid running into anyone.

Once her backup arrived she could ease up a little. She was nervous that she would get ambushed and then have to fight off her attackers while simultaneously protecting Yamato and Sachi. She had enough trouble just defending herself, but she couldn't break her promise to Itachi.

"How much longer until we're in Konoha?" Yamato asked.

"We've got a long way to go, Yamato," Sakura answered.

"How long?"

"A week, at most," she said. She was annoyed, but for their sake she didn't show it. They had been through enough.

"I miss Itachi-san," Sachi mumbled into the back of Sakura's neck.

Sakura missed him, too. Well, she missed his help, anyway.

"Listen up, kids," Sakura said, "When we get to Konoha you have to make sure that you don't say anything about Itachi-san. It could put his life in danger. Understand?"

"Why?" Yamato asked.

"People in Konoha don't like Itachi-san," Sakura explained, "They'll try to kill him. They'll be angry at me for speaking with him. You have to keep quiet about him. Don't ever say his name out loud."

"Why would anyone want to kill Itachi-san?"

"It's complicated, Yamato," Sakura said with a sigh, "Just tell me that you understand."

"I understand," he said.

"Sachi?" Sakura said.

"I understand," Sachi whispered back.

"Good," Sakura said, only slightly relieved. There was still no guarantee they wouldn't speak about Itachi. "Yamato, if you want to honor Itachi-san's memory, you should work really hard at the academy. Do everything you can to become a powerful ninja like he wants you to be."

"I will," Yamato said. Sakura was surprised by the fierceness in his voice. Itachi seemed to have had a profound influence on the boy.

Sakura squinted her eyes against the setting sun, raising her hand to her face to block the light. It would be dark soon.

"It's time to set up camp, I think," she said.

.

The next morning was chaotic. Sakura woke up to feed the children and herself breakfast and was met with the backup team of ANBU that had been sent to help her. They were understandably confused by the presence of two small children and the lack of a single enemy.

There were three ANBU total, each keeping his mask in place. Sakura, having worked in the hospital for so long, was aware of the identities of each man and didn't see the need for the formality, but they insisted that the masks be left on. In fact, they hardly spoke to Sakura at all.

Yamato and Sachi were both enchanted by these new masked strangers. In spite of themselves, the ANBU team also seemed to have taken a liking to the children.

That was how Sakura found herself with no kids on her back, traveling third in succession behind two ANBU, each with a child on his back, and the third keeping up the rear.

She was grateful for their arrival. It meant they could travel faster and that Sakura wouldn't be alone should she be ambushed or just caught off guard by an enemy.

She didn't bother trying to explain the situation to the team and they didn't ask.

It felt strange to be around them. Sakura felt nervous for a multitude of reasons. The children could bring up Itachi at any moment and that would be the end of Sakura. Tsunade would definitely have her head for that. She also just wanted to outright tell them the truth, like a call of the void. It would release the tension and nervousness she felt to get it all out in the open.

Or maybe she just wanted to talk about it and air out the _feelings_ (ugh) that overwhelmed her.

She couldn't explain why she felt more comfortable around Itachi than she did the three ANBU. She couldn't explain why the sight of Sachi on the back of another man's seemed so wrong.

Maybe she should just lay low for a while when she got back to Konoha. She could request some time off, not take any new missions, and just try to relax a little. Maybe she just needed time to clear her head.

.

Several days later, the eclectic group of travelers arrived at the gates of Konoha. Immediately after walking through the massive gates, the three ANBU deserted her, leaving her alone with Yamato and Sachi again.

Sakura knew that she needed to report directly to Tsunade after a mission, but she hadn't really figured out what she was going to do with Yamato and Sachi yet. It was feasible that she could take them to the Hokage tower with her, but that would open up a terrifying can of worms.

But she didn't really have a choice. There was nowhere else to take them.

When she knocked on the door to Tsunade's office, Sakura was prepared for the worst. She wasn't necessarily in trouble, but she certainly had the potential to be, and Tsunade's wrath was never something she wanted to be on the receiving end of.

"Sakura," Tsunade snapped, "Come in."

Like a child with a stolen cookie in her back pocket, Sakura slowly slipped through the crack in the door, pulling Yamato and Sachi inside behind her.

"What is this?" Tsunade demanded when she saw the two children, who looked just as terrified as Sakura.

"Orphans," Sakura clarified, attempting to use her most confident voice, "Their parents were killed by the infection."

"Orphans. You brought back orphans."

"I couldn't just leave them there, Tsunade-shishou."

Tsunade narrowed her eyes at her. Her hands were steepled in front of her face – a telltale sign that she was not pleased.

"So you plan to raise these children?" she demanded, "While working full time at the hospital. On top of being a shinobi. You'll still have missions, you know."

"What?" Sakura breathed, "No, of course I didn't plan on raising them."

"Well, who's going to raise them, then?"

Sakura fidgeted nervously because she hadn't thought about that at all. There were many war orphans after the Third War. Sakura had assumed that there would be some type of program in place to take care of such children. Naruto had been an orphan, too, after all.

But Naruto had been all alone, hadn't he…?

"I don't know, Tsunade-shishou."

Tsunade's gaze softened and she let out a tired sigh. "You're tender-hearted, Sakura," she said, "I can't blame you for that."

Encouraged, Sakura lifted her eyes to meet her mentor's. "Yamato wants to be a ninja," she said, "I told him he could join the academy. He's the right age."

"Yamato, eh?" Tsunade smiled at the boy.

Yamato blushed and shrunk back behind Sakura, holding onto her apron with tight fists. Sakura didn't blame him for being intimidated.

"And what's your name?" Tsunade asked, turning to Sachi who was on Sakura's other side.

Predicting that the girl wouldn't speak up, Sakura answered for her. "Her name is Sachi."

Tsunade closed her eyes for a brief moment, collecting her thoughts. Sakura couldn't tell whether that was a good sign or not. Usually, her mentor wasn't so calm or collected in situations like this.

"Shizune!" Tsunade bellowed, startling her three visitors.

A clamor of thudding footsteps resounded in the hallway before Shizune burst through the door, looking quite frazzled.

"Yes, Hokage-sama?"

"Take these two kids and get them cleaned up. They're filthy," Tsunade commanded, "Sakura will come collect them when we've finished our meeting."

Shizune eyed the two kids in question with a curious, but wary gaze.

"Yes, Hokage-sama," she answered, ushering said kids through the door. They didn't resist her, but they looked back at Sakura with wide, worried eyes until the door was firmly shut behind them, blocking her from view.

"Let's hear your mission report."

Sakura took a deep breath. "The mission took longer than expected, as you know. Upon my arrival in Toyeiki I was unable to find the cause of the bacterial infection for quite some time. The reason for this is that only civilians were infected and chakra was the instigating factor. I didn't think to analyze chakra in the infected because no shinobi – to my knowledge – had been infected."

"How did you come to the conclusion that chakra was the instigating factor?"

"A man who had been recently infected came to Toyeiki for unrelated reasons," Sakura said. Her heart was beating wildly out of control. "He was a low-skill shinobi who exhibited several symptoms of the infection, so I asked him if I could study him before I cured him."

Tsunade nodded and didn't ask any probing questions. Sakura breathed a sigh of relief.

"Analysis of the infection in his body led me to believe that chakra was the cause of the spread of the bacteria. Not only that, but his chakra changed its state of matter, becoming more viscous the longer he was infected."

"Viscous?" Tsunade asked, "More solid, you mean?"

"Exactly, gelatinous, almost," Sakura answered.

Tsunade furrowed her brow.

"I concluded that the reason most shinobi were immune to this is that the infection seemed to accumulate near chakra points, and people with control over their chakra tended to subconsciously burn it off without realizing it. A natural defense, if you will."

"Why do you think the shinobi you met contracted the disease, then?"

Sakura swallowed. "His immune system was severely weakened due to an autoimmune disease."

Tsunade nodded.

"I created a vaccine using the shinobi's infected chakra," Sakura continued, "Because of its viscosity, I was able to use it within the vaccine with no trouble."

"That was a smart idea."

"Shortly after I created the vaccine, Ino returned from her investigation and told me that she had traced patient zero to a bunker east of Toyeiki, where Kabuto admitted to her that he had created the infection himself. As an experiment."

"I've spoken with Ino about what she saw," Tsunade said. She didn't seem happy about it, but Sakura didn't want to press her luck by asking about it.

"Against my better judgment, I stayed in Toyeiki knowing that Kabuto was searching for me," Sakura continued, a nervous lump forming in her throat, "I knew that backup was on the way and that I wouldn't be able to outrun Kabuto with the children with me."

Tsunade's frown deepened, but she didn't say anything.

"Kabuto told me that he had planned on creating the infection to use as biological warfare and that he had failed because it didn't affect shinobi," Sakura said, "He told me he was impressed with my work in Toyeiki. He had sent a spy – one of the nurses – to keep tabs on me. She left a couple of weeks into the mission, I assume to report back that I was failing miserably."

"You mean you were working with a spy that whole time?" Tsunade demanded, "And you didn't notice?"

Sakura felt her face heat up, the tips of her ears burning. "Due to the nature of the mission, I had my guard down. I didn't think I would encounter any enemies. I had no reason to think that."

"I thought you were a better shinobi than that."

Sakura let her gaze fall to her feet because Tsunade was right. And hadn't Itachi mentioned something similar? Not about Kabuto's spy, but certainly about her instincts as a shinobi.

"I'm sorry, Tsunade-shishou," Sakura muttered.

Tsunade waved her hand dismissively, "Continue."

"Kabuto asked me to join him as his assistant," Sakura said, "He claimed that he could teach me more than you could, and that I had the potential skill he needed to continue his work on experiments now that Orochimaru is dead."

"He confirmed that Orochimaru is dead?"

Sakura nodded. She hadn't thought that Orochimaru would be where Tsunade's thoughts lingered, given that she had just admitted that an enemy shinobi had specifically tried to recruit her. But she supposed that Orochimaru had been Tsunade's teammate, probably her friend. He had left Konoha, become an enemy, but so had Sasuke. And wouldn't Sakura feel sad if Sasuke died?

She chanced a look up at her mentor's face and saw her stone still, her expression vacant.

"Are you alright, Tsunade-shishou?"

Tsunade shook herself back to reality. "Yeah," she said, "Yeah, I'm fine. Please continue."

Sakura paused for a moment before speaking again.

"I rejected Kabuto's offer and came straight back to Konoha with Yamato and Sachi."

Tsunade nodded. Her face was harder than it had been before, more strained. "Is there anything else you'd like to add?"

"Just one more thing," Sakura said, twisting her fingers up nervously, "Kabuto said that when Sasuke killed Orochimaru, he began assembling a team. In order to kill his brother."

.

Sakura was exhausted. She had been given a week of leave, per usual after a lengthy mission, and was unable to enjoy it because there were two children constantly bickering back and forth in her tiny apartment.

She wasn't annoyed at them, exactly. More with herself for not realizing how much work children could be. Or because she hadn't really thought this through. There had to be someone out there who was willing to take these kids in.

Yamato would be starting at the academy in the coming week, which meant that Sakura would have a bit less responsibility with him gone. She could just focus on Sachi (who, if Sakura was honest with herself, was much better company than Yamato). Sachi was a blessedly quiet angel who wanted nothing but to sit in her room and read her books.

"Sakura-san, Sachi is pinching me!" Yamato wailed from the bedroom.

"Give me back my book!" Sachi shouted at her brother.

Sakura sighed and rubbed her forehead. She would have to think of something soon. She couldn't keep this up while working at the hospital.

"That's enough, you two," Sakura said, hands on hips, "Come on, I've got some people I'd like you to meet."

.

She didn't know what she was thinking showing up at her parents house with two children completely unannounced. She had barely spoken to them since she had become Tsunade's apprentice, and she worried that she'd offend them by showing up now with a monumental favor to ask.

But she didn't know who else to ask.

When she knocked on their door, she hadn't expected there to be no reply. She stood on the doorstep with Yamato and Sachi standing behind her.

"Sakura!"

The pink-haired woman spun around and smiled at her father, who was running toward her with a massive grin on his face.

"It's so good to see you!" he said, pulling her into a bear hug. Sakura held onto him and buried her face in his shoulder. She had forgotten how much she loved him. Guilt flooded her brain as she released him. She needed to remember to visit him more often.

"I've missed you," she said, still smiling, "Where is Mother?"

"Oh, I think she went out shopping," he answered, "Come inside, let's catch up."

He circumvented Sakura and found Yamato and Sachi on his doorstep, watching him with those wide eyes that children give strangers.

"What have we here?" he asked.

Sakura cleared her throat nervously. "They're orphans," she said, "I picked them up on my last mission."

"Orphans…" he repeated.

Sakura felt a heaviness in her chest that settled there and made it difficult to breath. She was sad for Yamato and Sachi, who had lost both their parents and then Itachi, too. She was sad that she disappointed her parents by never visiting. She was sad that Sasuke was still gone. She was sad that she had disappointed Tsunade by not being the best shinobi she could be.

"Well, let's go inside and get everyone some tea," he continued, "You kids like tea, don't you?"

Yamato nodded eagerly while Sachi gave the man a shy smile.

When they were all inside and seated around the table, Yamato and Sachi eagerly sipping tea from their steaming mugs, Sakura set her face determinedly and turned her gaze to her father.

This was option one, she thought. If her parents couldn't take in Yamato and Sachi, she would ask someone else. She would keep asking until she found someone, because they could not be without a home and there had to be someone out there who was willing to take them in.

She promised Itachi.

And she didn't have to do any mental gymnastics to admit that she cared for the kids, too.

"Father," Sakura started. She used her "hospital" voice, her authoritative one. She had never used it on her father before, but now seemed as good a time as any to start. "I have a favor – a pretty big one – to ask of you."

Kizashi was a kind-hearted man who cared deeply about his daughter. He didn't seem surprised to hear that tone from Sakura – he may have even expected it. How often had his daughter shown up on his doorstep with two orphans, asking for a favor? The answer was never, of course, and he wasn't an idiot.

His smile never faltered, even in spite of the very serious question he surely knew that his daughter was about to ask him. Sakura hoped that maybe this was something that he wanted. Sakura wasn't a model daughter – not by any stretch of the imagination. Maybe Sachi could be a better daughter to Kizashi than Sakura ever was. Maybe Yamato could be the son he never had.

"Does this favor have anything to do with these two wonderful children you brought to visit me?" he asked. Sakura couldn't stop the smile that spread across her face at the sound of his _eager_ and jovial voice. He wasn't upset. He wasn't angry with her for asking something so huge from him.

But that didn't mean she knew his answer yet.

"I know it's a big favor to ask," she said, accidentally dropping the authority from her voice and replacing it with a tinge of hesitancy. "But I can't keep them with me. I have too much going on. They need a home. A steady, uncomplicated home."

Kizashi put a finger to his lips and tapped thoughtfully. "You want us to take them in?" he asked, but it didn't really sound like a question.

"If you can," she replied, "I mean, if you want to."

"I see," he said.

"I really care about these kids," she said, "They're important to me. We've been through a lot together. I don't trust their care to just anyone. That's why I asked you first."

Kizashi's grin spread even wider, if that were possible. "You don't have to butter me up, Sakura," he said, "I'll have to speak to your mother, of course, but can you imagine her turning away a couple of orphans?"

Sakura felt a little of the heaviness in her chest dissipate and float away.

"I'm offended that you felt so nervous to ask!" Kizashi said, still beaming at her. She could always count on her father to be in a cheerful mood. That would be good for Yamato and Sachi. They would be happy here.

"Oh, thank you, father," she said on an exhale, pushing her chair back to throw her arms around the man's neck. She held him tight – tighter than she had in a long time.

When she pulled away, she noticed a more serious look in her father's eyes – one she couldn't remember ever seeing there before. She didn't know what it meant and she didn't feel confident enough to ask.

"Father," she said, back to authoritative mode, "I want to pay you each month for their care-" she held up a hand against his immediate protest "-these kids are important to me. Like my own children would be. I will pay for their food and clothes. I will pay Yamato's academy fees. And I'll help out whenever I can. I'm not just going to burden you with them and leave."

"Sakura," he said, but he seemed to be at a loss for words.

"Yamato starts at the academy in a few days," Sakura continued, "I want to take him there on his first day."

"You've grown into an amazing woman, Sakura," her father said, "I'm so proud of you."

Sakura swallowed back the tears that prickled at the back of her eyes.

.

"Again!" Sachi screamed through fits of giggles. Kizashi held the girl by her ankles and spun her around, her arms stretched forward and her face red from all the blood rushing to her head.

Sakura didn't think that it was the safest activity to be doing, but it was very fitting that her father would be doing such a thing. And, of course, she was there to assist if anything went wrong.

Yamato had found his way into Sakura's old bedroom and was currently riffling through her childhood possessions – most of which were old ninja tools and pictures from missions she had gone on with Team 7.

Sakura left Sachi and her father downstairs to get to know one another and stood leaning against the doorway to her room. She watched Yamato for several minutes as he picked up the various sundries on her dresser and examined them. He reached out for the framed picture of Team 7 by her bedside and paused.

"Sakura-san," he said, startling her. She hadn't realized that he knew she was there watching. "Who is that?"

He pointed to Sasuke. She inhaled sharply.

"That's Sasuke," she answered. "He's my teammate. Once you graduate from the academy, you'll have your own teammates, too."

"He looks a lot like…"

Sakura inwardly applauded him for not saying the name out loud.

"They're brothers," Sakura said, answering his unasked question.

"Oh," Yamato said. "Is he… would I like him?"

Sakura sighed and sat down on her bed. Yamato hopped up next to her, still holding the picture in his hand. She took it from him and looked at it, feeling nostalgic for Team 7 and sad that things were so different now.

"He's not like his brother, if that's what you mean," Sakura said, "I'm not sure if you would like him. I'm not sure if I like him."

"Can I meet him?"

"I hope so," she said wistfully, "Some day."

Sakura set the picture back down on her nightstand and leaned back on her palms. It felt weird being back in her old room, looking at her old things. It almost felt like she was twelve years old again.

"Who's this other guy in the picture?" Yamato asked, peering back at the picture from across her lap. She passed it back to him.

"The blonde one is Naruto," she said, grinning, "I think you would really like Naruto. He isn't like… you know who. But he's a good friend and an excellent ninja."

Yamato hummed thoughtfully, tracing the edges of the picture with his fingertip. "And the old guy?"

"That's Kakashi-sensei," she answered, "He's the leader of our team. Team 7."

"You look so little in the picture, Sakura-san," Yamato said.

She still _felt_ little. It was hard to believe that so much had changed in just - what was it, four years? She didn't feel much different from that little girl in the photo, but she imagined she looked a lot different to Yamato.

"Yeah, I wasn't much older than you are when that picture was taken."

"I can't wait to have my own team," Yamato said, "I wonder if I'll like my teammates. I don't want to get stuck with someone I don't like, like you did."

Sakura chuckled at the irony.

"I did like Sasuke," she said, "It was Naruto I didn't like."

Yamato set the picture down on her nightstand again. A comfortable silence spread around them and Sakura inched closer to Yamato and threw an arm around his shoulder. He leaned into her.

"So this is going to be my room from now on?"

"You'll have to share with Sachi."

"Oh, come on!"


	12. Chapter 12

Itachi had tracked Kabuto back to his bunker in Fire Country. It wasn't the smartest decision he had ever made, but Itachi seemed to be making a lot of stupid decisions lately.

He had all but given up on Akatsuki at this point. He had no more use for being a part of the organization now that Sasuke was going to come after him. He would soon be taking his last breaths, giving his brother the revenge he needed so badly. Everything else seemed trivial.

He only hoped that Sasuke would reach him before any Akatsuki members did. It was somewhat in his control, if he got what he needed from Kabuto.

A genjutsu, and not a particularly good one hid the entrance to the bunker. It wasn't Kabuto's specialty, but Itachi had expected better of the man.

He activated his Sharingan and went inside.

The inside of the bunker was much larger than it appeared from the outside. It went deep underground and into an open area that looked very much like a prison. There were several sets of spiraling metal staircases leading to suspended cages filled to capacity with some of what Itachi assumed were Kabuto's "patients."

Their sickening cries echoed in the expansive space, reminding Itachi of the inn in Toyeiki. He didn't want to think about _why_ they screamed or what Kabuto had done to them.

Itachi walked down to the ground floor and past the rows of cells that lined the walls around him. Skeletal hands lunged out between the bars to grab him as he passed. He was careful to keep his distance, recoiling minutely when a set of fingertips grazed against his cloak.

He wondered if these people were here for Orochimaru or if Kabuto had gone out in search of them after the snake summoner's death.

Itachi entered the door near the end of the rows of cells where he could feel Kabuto's chakra signature flaring. He was using it for something. On the other side of the door was a chamber that looked similar to a doctor's office, but decidedly more _gray_. In the center of the room was Kabuto standing over a gurney and peering into the open stomach of a woman who was slumped – obviously dead – on the white sheets.

Shifting his Sharingan to the Mangekyou, Itachi let the door fall shut, the sound echoing throughout the chamber.

Kabuto didn't look up from the gurney.

"Itachi-san," Kabuto said, his voice smooth and cordial, "What brings you here today?"

Itachi paused a moment to collect his temper before he could lash out at the medic-nin. It was not the first time in the past week that he had been annoyed and he was beginning to grow accustomed to the feeling.

"I want to talk to you about Sasuke." Itachi said.

Kabuto dropped his hands to his sides and took a step back away from the gurney. "Sasuke, you say," he started, "Not Sakura?"

Itachi remained impassive, but he felt his fingers curling themselves into a fist underneath his cloak. He wouldn't let Kabuto get a rise out of him.

"You were working with her, weren't you?" Kabuto asked, "I sensed you in Toyeiki. I am curious. What could a guy like you and girl like Sakura have to work together on?"

Besides the obvious – that Kabuto had created the need for them to work together – Itachi felt that it was a bit presumptuous for him to assume that they were working together. There were a slew of other reasons that a couple of enemy nins would be in the same location, but Itachi didn't mention that.

"Tell me what you know about Sasuke's whereabouts," Itachi demanded, cutting right to the chase.

"Now, now," Kabuto said in an irritatingly condescending tone, "You don't need to worry about Sasuke. He'll find you when he's ready. You know that."

Kabuto was looking directly into Itachi's eyes, seemingly unperturbed by the presence of the Mangekyou there. Surely he knew what Itachi was capable of – what his eyes could do. Wasn't that what Orochimaru's ultimate goal was? To have the Sharingan? It was inconceivable that Kabuto wouldn't be aware of their powers.

Itachi could pull him into his Tsukuyomi and get his answers there. He didn't have to waste his time speaking to Kabuto anymore than he already had.

"I'd like to talk some more about Sakura, though," Kabuto said. Itachi raked his gaze over the man, feeling a strange pull to kill him right then and there. "If she was willing to work with you, there must be some part of her that's willing to work with me as well. After all, my crimes are much less horrifying than yours, aren't they?"

Itachi didn't think they were – not in the slightest. Itachi had never experimented on anyone – not nearly anything as cruel and disturbing as Kabuto had. He hadn't held hundreds of innocent people captive in order to poke and prod them with needles.

Had his torture of Sasuke been worse than this? Had murdering his clan been comparable to the devastation Kabuto wreaked on these innocent humans?

He didn't want to think about the answer to that.

"I don't care about Sakura," Itachi said.

Kabuto chuckled darkly. "I wonder about that," he said, "But that's besides the point. If you help me win over Sakura and get her to join me, then I will tell you everything you want to know about Sasuke."

"I'm not here to strike a deal with you," Itachi said.

"If you want my cooperation, you will help me get Sakura."

Itachi clenched his fists. He didn't want to fight Kabuto. He didn't want to get involved with Kabuto's business either. All he needed was a close approximation of where Sasuke might be. He had other ways of tracking down his brother – he didn't need Kabuto's help.

Without any indication of what he was about to do, Itachi pulled Kabuto into his Tsukuyomi. This genjustu wasn't anywhere near as pleasant as the one he had shown to Yamato and Sachi, but it wasn't quite as terrifying as some that he had used before. After all, he didn't _want_ to hurt Kabuto. Not yet, anyway.

Within the genjutsu, Kabuto was strung upside down by his ankles, hanging from an unseen rafter. Casually, Itachi flung a shuriken at him, striking him in the abdomen. Kabuto winced, but made no sound.

"Kabuto," Itachi said, "I will release this genjutu when you give me the information I want. Otherwise, I will strike you with more shuriken until you decide to comply."

Kabuto looked up at his stomach and watched as the shuriken receded into nothingness. Another one that Itachi flung at him immediately replaced it. It embedded itself into his skin just below his ribcage.

Kabuto remained tightlipped, refusing to utter a word.

Three more shuriken followed the first, scattering around his chest and abdomen. Blood began to seep from the wounds, slowly dripping down Kabuto's neck and into his face. The four shuriken in his torso disappeared and Itachi repeated the process.

Three more times Itachi repeated the process, Kabuto remaining silent the entire time. There were worse things Itachi could do. A shuriken to the stomach wasn't something that most shinobi would be unable to handle. It wasn't the severity of the torture that would make Kabuto succumb to him. It was the time, the days he spent in the genjutsu.

Eventually, Kabuto would become accustomed to the pain. Or maybe he already was. But how long would he remain sane? How long could he stay in the genjutsu without begging or crying?

Itachi was in no hurry to find out. Not even a second had passed yet in the real world. Within Tsukuyomi, all he had was time.

.

After three days' worth of time in the genjutsu, Itachi released Kabuto. More time would have killed him, which was something Itachi wanted to avoid until he had the information he wanted.

Back in the real world, Kabuto slumped to the ground behind the gurney, smacking his head on the concrete floor with a dull thud.

Itachi was angry. Kabuto had remained silent for the duration of the genjutsu, never once revealing the pain or the suffering he must have been feeling. Itachi was exhausted just orchestrating the ordeal. Even if he couldn't admit it aloud, Itachi was impressed that Kabuto had managed to hang on for so long.

A lightning bolt of pain shot through Itachi's eye, stinging and blurring his vision. He covered his eye with his palm and grimaced. The dangers of using his Mangekyou were not unknown to him, but he supposed that if these were going to be his final days then he could play around with his powers in spite of the heavy consequences.

Itachi didn't plan on using the Tsukuyomi on Sasuke during their final battle. This would probably be the last time he used it at all. And it had been a wasted effort.

Still annoyed, Itachi approached Kabuto's limp body and kicked him over onto his back with his foot. His glasses had broken during the fall and had nicked his face, which was now streaked with blood. Itachi grimaced and heaved the man up onto his shoulder.

He didn't need Kabuto's help to track down Sasuke. He could do that on his own.

But he didn't want to leave Kabuto to his own devices either. He had come too close to Sakura (and therefore also Yamato and Sachi, Itachi reasoned) for Itachi's comfort. Whatever else Kabuto was planning, Itachi would put an end to right now.

"Kabuto-sama!"

Itachi turned to face the door he entered from. A girl was standing in the doorway looking flushed and nervous. Itachi detected a small chakra signature in her – she was not a shinobi, he deduced, but she could probably use chakra to some degree.

"What are you doing with him?" she shrieked, her voice several octaves higher than what it probably should have been.

"Who are you?" Itachi asked. She did not appear to be a patient of Kabuto's.

She took a step backwards, over the threshold of the door. Itachi deactivated his Sharingan. He couldn't use it in his current state anyway, and he wouldn't need it to deal with the girl.

"Who are you?" he repeated when she didn't answer.

"M-my name is Kira," she stuttered.

Kira. The nurse. The girl Kabuto had sent to spy on Sakura. So this girl had been the one who betrayed the pink-haired woman.

"You work for Kabuto."

"Yes."

"Did you work for Orochimaru, too?"

"I don't know who that is."

Itachi dropped Kabuto's body, letting it fall back to the ground without ceremony. Maybe Kira had the answers that Kabuto failed to give to him.

"I have some questions to ask you."

She glanced nervously between Itachi and Kabuto's body crumpled up at this feet. Itachi may not have been an inherently cruel man, but he appreciated that she showed an appropriate apprehensiveness about dealing with him. He had been pleased when Sakura had shown the same nervousness, if he was honest with himself.

But he wasn't going to hurt her, and telling her that would likely only make her more cooperative.

"I'm not going to hurt you," he said. He could see that she didn't believe him. "I just want some answers regarding Kabuto's prior business."

"Prior business?" she asked, clutching onto the doorframe like maybe it could save her if she dug her fingernails into hard enough.

"He was working for a man name Orochimaru," Itachi said, "And there was another man – Sasuke. Do you know where Sasuke is?"

"I don't know who either of those people are," she insisted, "Please believe me – I only just started working with Kabuto recently."

Itachi narrowed his eyes at her. It wasn't her fault that she didn't have answers. He could tell that she wasn't lying to him. Still, it was just another annoyance. It meant he would have to track Sasuke without any help.

"You no longer work for Kabuto, understand?" Itachi said, "Go back to wherever you came from and forget about Kabuto."

He watched as the fear on her face shifted to something darker, something more determined and fierce.

"You can't tell me what to do."

Her stubbornness reminded him of Sakura and he felt the corners of him mouth twitch up into a smile. He could be stubborn, too.

"Leave now, or I will kill Kabuto and you won't have a choice."

It was cold, even by Itachi's standards. He didn't really have any intention to kill Kabuto, but Kira didn't need to know that.

She dropped her gaze back down to Kabuto. He looked pretty rough with blood streaking down his face. He would undoubtedly be unconscious for a least a week after spending so long in the Tsukuyomi.

"Leave," Itachi repeated, his tone brooking no arguments. Just for good measure, he activated his Sharingan again and fixed her with his ominous red glare.

She wilted under his gaze, looking as though she were about to faint. Itachi considered whether it would be worth it to catch her before she fell in order to prevent her from hitting her head and seriously injuring herself. He thought about how the girl betrayed Sakura and decided otherwise.

The girl collapsed and slumped to the floor. Itachi felt it was a little melodramatic because he wasn't _that_ scary. At least Sakura hadn't fainted at the sight of his Sharingan and Sachi had even let him use it on her.

More than a little irritated, Itachi sighed and rubbed his brow with the back of his hand. He had his work cut out for him now.

.

Many hours later, Itachi was still inside Kabuto's bunker. He had tied up both Kabuto and Kira in the room with the gurney, using chakra binds to ensure that they wouldn't be able to escape. Kabuto might have been able to worm his way free, so Itachi made sure that his ties were extra secure.

After a few minutes of exploring, it was clear to Itachi that this bunker was not one that Orochimaru had used. He couldn't sense any trace of Orochimaru or Sasuke anywhere within the bunker.

Instead, Itachi opted to search through Kabuto's laboratory that seemed to also function as his office. It was remarkably similar to the office that Sakura had set up for herself in Toyeiki except this one contained far more unsavory things – like jars filled with detached body parts, forbidden jutsus rolled up into scrolls, and rows and rows of poisons. Itachi took special note of the poisons because it seemed that there were far too many for it to be a passing interest. There were shelves upon shelves of different colored poisons. Itachi wasn't all that familiar with poisons, but he was curious about these.

Inside Kabuto's desk drawer, Itachi found a poisons guide – or what he assumed was a poisons guide. It appeared to have been written with some type of code. Itachi _was_ familiar with codes, so he tucked the guide away in his cloak for further inspection later.

Also in Kabuto's office, Itachi found the patient files for all of the people that had been in the cells Itachi passed when he first entered. The files detailed all of the gruesome experiments that Kabuto had been doing and Itachi found most of them difficult to stomach. Thinking about Orochimaru's experiments always left Itachi feeling bitter. Sasuke had essentially become one prior to Orochimaru's death and it didn't sit right with Itachi.

Itachi knew of Sasuke's curse mark. He even knew of Juugo, whose blood helped create the curse mark. Itachi also knew that Sasuke didn't need such a thing to become powerful. He was an Uchiha – it was in his blood to be great. He had the Sharingan at his disposal, and a natural talent for fire style and taijustu.

It was unimaginable to Itachi that Sasuke would have found himself lacking power – or at least lacking the ability to gain it without Orochimaru's aid. But, Itachi wasn't so proud that he couldn't admit when he'd made a mistake.

The more he thought about it, the sicker to his stomach he felt. _He_ had pushed Sasuke in this direction. He had nudged him right into Orochimaru's waiting arms. How could he blame Sasuke for doing exactly what he told him to do?

Itachi had only been thirteen when he left Konoha. Sure, many thought he possessed intelligence on par with a much older, more experienced man, but still – he had only been a kid, barely older than Yamato. He wouldn't have trusted Yamato with some of the decisions he had made back then. Yamato wouldn't have been capable of making such decisions without help. So why did Itachi feel so guilty for making mistakes at his age?

Sasuke suffered as a result of those mistakes, and would likely suffer for the rest of his life. There was nothing Itachi could do now but let his plan come to fruition. Sasuke would kill him and find his peace. It was the best that anyone could hope for. No one would miss Itachi. Sasuke would have his revenge. Hopefully he would return to Konoha, which would make Sakura happy, too. A win for everyone.

But it didn't feel much like a win for Itachi.

He searched the rest of Kabuto's office, finding nothing else of use anywhere. There was no more information about Sasuke that could be gathered at this location.

.

After leaving Kabuto's bunker, Itachi found himself at a loss for what to do. Going back to Rain, back to Akatsuki didn't seem like such a good idea anymore. He never wanted to be there in the first place.

Sasuke would come find him when he was ready. That had always been the plan. But Itachi didn't feel like waiting anymore. He was growing more and more desperate as time passed, hoping to just end things now – as quickly as possible.

He knew that "quick" was just a pipedream. Sasuke would want to fight him at his full strength – and Itachi wanted to confirm that Sasuke was truly powerful enough to protect himself and Konoha. It would be painful. He would have to lose, and he hated to lose. He hoped that he wouldn't have to _let_ Sasuke win, but if it came to that, he wouldn't hesitate to do it.

That line of reasoning led him to Sound. It was Sasuke's last known location – Orochimaru's base. It meant he would have to travel directly through Fire Country (a risk he didn't want to take), or skirt the country around the perimeter. It would take weeks to go around, but Itachi didn't mind. All he had was time.

That was how he found himself in a tavern near the border of River Country. He was technically still in Fire Country, but he knew that Konoha's attention would be directed elsewhere – probably north toward Sound, or maybe they had finally discovered the location of Akatsuki's base and would focus their attention on Rain. Either way, Itachi was comfortable with his cloak inside out and his collar pulled up high. He wouldn't be recognized here.

He was nursing a cup of sake – not something he would usually do. In fact, he could count on one hand the number of times he'd consumed alcohol of any kind. It dulled the mind, slowed down reflexes, and loosened tongues. He was smart enough to stay away from it on a regular basis.

But he, in a fragile state of mind now, knew that it would all be over soon. If he was going to go out, he might as well go out with a bang, right? Maybe now was his chance to enjoy all the things he had deprived himself of for so many years. He could drink what he wanted, eat dango until his stomach hurt, and spend the remainder of his money on books to consume while he waited for his end to come.

"Hey, sweetie, you looking to have a good time?"

Itachi had felt her approach him from behind. He'd seen her in the corner and he knew that she was a prostitute. She'd worked the richer looking men in the tavern and for whatever reason they had not wanted her.

He turned to look at her, giving her nothing more than a side-glance. She was pretty, probably in her twenties. She had that golden hair that most men seemed to like, a full pout that was darkened by whatever red hue she'd stained it with. Itachi was a man and could admit that she was very beautiful.

And wasn't he going to go out with a bang?

She placed a coy hand on his shoulder, rubbing the knots there with her slender fingers. She didn't do much to relieve any tension, but it felt nice to have someone's hands there. She sidled up next to him, forgoing the barstool next to him and asserting herself into his lap instead.

Itachi swallowed hard because he did _not_ like it at all. Or maybe he liked it too much. A wave of nausea swept over him and he gripped the counter in front of him too tightly.

"I haven't seen you around here before," she said, encouraged by his lack of response. She twisted her hips in his lap, creating a delicious and sickening friction.

"Stop," Itachi whispered hoarsely.

She tilted her head back and laughed – a fake, and yet utterly pleasing sound. Itachi felt a heat rise up in his cheeks and _other_ places, too.

"It's okay, baby," she cooed, bringing her face closer to his. Her lips were mere centimeters away from his. He could lean forward, fold his body closer to hers, and he would be kissing her.

But instead he gripped her elbows in his hands and halted her movements, forcibly holding her down. Her thighs tightened around his.

Itachi wasn't the kind of man that sought out physical pleasure. He hadn't given it any thought at all after he'd left Konoha. There had been a girl – an Uchiha. He forced himself never to think of her, but now images of her flooded back to him. She could have been his wife – the new Uchiha matriarch. She was beautiful and full of spirit and would have loved him until her last breath.

And he had killed her.

The girl continued to wriggle in his lap, seemingly enjoying being held down. It made Itachi feel sick.

Izumi. That had been her name. He would have married her. He knew it. They had been so young when the massacre happened. Sex was hardly on either of their minds. But now, with a prostitute grinding on his lap, he imagined what sex with her might have been like.

Nothing like this, he thought.

"Get off of me," he said, still clutching her arms.

She cocked her head to the side and leaned her body closer to his. "Come on now, baby," she said, "I can show you a real good time."

He pushed her off him, toward the empty barstool on his left. She shrieked indignantly and stumbled, obviously more than a little intoxicated. Annoyed by the guilt that he felt for pushing her so roughly, Itachi reached out and caught her arm, holding onto her until she was steady on her feet.

"I'm not interested," Itachi said.

She pouted and crossed her arms over her ample chest, pushing them up and into Itachi's view. He hoped that she would miss the way his eyes dipped down for a fraction of a second to view what she had put on display for him.

"You seem pretty interested," she said, nodding her head toward Itachi's lap, where an uncomfortable physical manifestation of Itachi's arousal was in plain view.

Itachi activated his Sharingan and fixed her with his most intimidating glare. "I'm not interested," he repeated.

That seemed to do the trick. She didn't wilt like Kira had done, or shrink away from him like Sakura had, but she wasn't stupid and could sense the danger behind those eyes.

"Fine," she said, jutting her hip out with a sass that reminded him of Sakura, "You could have just said no to begin with."

Itachi turned away from her, back to the bar. He _had_ told her to stop, but he didn't need to make his point to her. He just wanted her to leave. He adjusted his cloak to cover the embarrassing situation in his lap and took another sip of his sake.

His head was swimming from the sake and the sensation of being aroused. If Sasuke walked in right now ready to fight him, Itachi would be mortified. Maybe he should stay on the straight and narrow instead of letting loose. It was a luxury he couldn't afford. He remembered why he didn't drink. He remembered why he hadn't let himself think of Izumi.

Itachi was not cut out for a hedonistic lifestyle. Sex, alcohol, the simplest of life's pleasures had never been attainable for him. There was no reason that should change now just because death was looming over him.

But maybe he could just finish this one drink.


	13. Chapter 13

Yamato was determined to be a good ninja. Sakura, true to her word, had picked up Yamato from her parents home and taken him to the academy for his first day. He was older than the other kids. His eyes were duller than theirs, accustomed to loss and depravity in a way that the other students wouldn't be for quite some time.

But he worked hard and studied. He piled his books high in his arms and held onto them as if they meant the world to him. Sakura offered to help carry them when she had come to pick him up later that day, but he had refused.

"If I'm not strong enough to carry my own books," he'd said, "I can never be a ninja."

Sakura was pleasantly surprised by the way the children had adapted to life in Konoha. After a couple of weeks, they had fallen into a comfortable routine. Every day, Sakura left her apartment extra early in the morning to pick up Yamato and drop him off at the academy on her way to the hospital.

She got to know him on those early morning walks. She learned about his father, the shady merchant who was always yelling or drinking or both. She learned about his mother – a woman who had encouraged him to dream big and escape from the life that she had been chained to.

Sakura was no stranger to sob stories, but she found herself pitying Yamato and Sachi in a way that she hadn't with Sasuke. She questioned her own motives for this. Yamato and Sachi were in her care now (well, sort of) and Sasuke had never been anyone other than her teammate and crush.

After about a month, Sakura realized that she loved those kids. She loved them like they were her own flesh and blood.

Sachi, too, had grown accustomed to life in Konoha. She had formed a strong bond with Kizashi in much the same way she had with Itachi. The two were hardly ever separated from one another. Sakura would catch glimpses of the two of them, Kizashi holding Sachi close to his chest, smoothing her hair down with his palm. It reminded Sakura so much of Itachi that it almost hurt to look at.

On her off days, Sakura would take Sachi to Ino's flower shop and show her some of the flower arranging tricks that Ino had taught her. Or she would take her to Naruto's apartment.

Naruto was over the moon when Sakura had shown up on his doorstep two days after returning to Konoha with two orphans at her side. He ushered them inside, apologizing for the mess. He grinned widely at the kids and played games with them. He used shadow clones to play hide and seek. He took them to the training grounds and impressed them with his Rasengan. He loved them almost as much as Sakura did.

They had taken to calling him Uncle Naruto and came to expect certain things from him during their visits. Big bowls of ramen were not unheard of, nor where sneakily passed handfuls of candy. Sakura pretended not to notice when he gave Yamato shuriken and kunai, or Sachi an extra lollipop even though she hadn't had her supper yet.

If anything, Naruto needed those kids. They provided him with a distraction from Sasuke. With Yamato and Sachi around, Naruto was the happiest Sakura had ever seen him.

It was odd to think that it was all because of Itachi and his inability to leave a couple of orphans to their natural fate.

Sakura hadn't forgotten about Itachi. She was still confused by his behavior, and curious about whatever unknown factor was keeping her from really understanding him. She thought about him more than she wanted to admit.

It was the reason why she had snuck back into the hospital long after her shift was over to peruse through the Uchiha medical files. Yamato and Sachi were safe in bed at her parents' house. Tsunade was long gone for the day and Naruto was likely passed out on his sofa by now.

Shizune was her only concern now, and Sakura had ways of dealing with Shizune. She had seen the way Genma and Shizune looked at each other when they thought others weren't looking. Sakura wasn't one for meddling, but she found this to be an appropriate occasion for such behavior.

She had written a note signed by Genma for Shizune to come out to the training grounds after dark. Genma had been harder to lure out there, but the day prior, Sakura had made sure to mention several times in passing that Shizune was going to blow off some steam at the training grounds while she patched up his wounds. She hoped that Genma would catch the hint. She didn't want Shizune to be disappointed.

But either way, it achieved the same effect. Sakura was alone at the hospital, save for the night nurses and a few lower rank medics.

Sakura went straight for the back offices where she knew all of the medical files were kept. She didn't know exactly what she would find in Itachi's medical file – if anything at all. But it seemed as good a place as any to start.

Starting in the U's had left her empty-handed. Sasuke's file was the only still in the rows of current patients (and Sakura felt that it probably should have been added to the rest of the Uchiha pile by now), but that only meant that she would have to go through the patient archives.

The archives were deep underneath the hospital, stacked in cardboard boxes in the musty basement. It wasn't a pleasant locale, but Sakura didn't have any complaints. She sifted through the boxes until she came to one labeled "Uchiha."

She flipped over the files of the names she didn't know – those who had been unfortunately enough to have been killed by one of their own. She passed Mikoto and Fugaku and released the breath that caught in her throat before she could think too hard about it.

When she finally came to Itachi's file it felt far too heavy in her hands. It occurred to her that she was violating Itachi's privacy by doing this – that this information wasn't meant for her to see. It was why it was kept down in the basement, after all.

But, as always, curiosity got the better of her.

She skimmed over the basic information in his file. His name, birthday, height, weight, and a small picture of him in the corner. She found herself staring at the picture. He was wearing his ANBU uniform, his mask pushed up to the top of his head. He looked so young, too young to have done what he did. He looked so tired, so beaten down. Sakura thought of Yamato, who was sharper and duller than his classmates at the same time.

She tore her gaze away from the picture and flipped to the next page. She could see that the hospital staff had known his autoimmune disease, even if others had not been aware of it. He had been treated for it and cleared for duty in spite of the fact that now Konoha didn't allow someone with such a condition to be active on the roster.

The adjacent page detailed what was known about his eyes. He had awakened his Sharingan at age eight, far sooner than Sasuke had awakened his. Sakura also knew that he had awakened his Mangekyou, but the file did not mention that.

His file was brief and contained nothing that Sakura found useful. However, she slid the file into her pack anyway. No one would miss it here, and it might come in handy some day.

She pushed all of the cardboard boxes back to their rightful places and headed home for the night. She still had a lot of investigating to do.

.

"Hey, Forehead, hurry up already!"

Sakura groaned as she pulled on her shoes and finger combed her hair. It was getting long now, falling just past her shoulders. Quickly and messily, she piled it up on top of her head and twisted it into a bun.

"I'm coming," she shouted to Ino who was leaning against the other side of her bedroom door.

Sakura flung the door open, knowing full well that it would smack Ino in the face. The blonde staggered backwards and sent an annoyed glare to Sakura, who feigned innocence without any real validity.

"You couldn't have bothered with your hair?" Ino demanded, flicking her own perfectly coiffed bangs out of her eyes.

"I just got home from work, Ino," Sakura muttered, "Besides, it's just me and you."

"But what if there are cute boys there?"

"There are never cute boys there."

Ino huffed and Sakura giggled. Ino wasn't really as boy crazy as she seemed, but she certainly liked to talk about it often. It was a safe subject for the two of them now that Sasuke was gone and they were both kind of over him anyway.

Sakura really wanted to confide in Ino about Itachi. She felt the urge almost every day to tell someone about him – not just because he had helped her and was a freaking angel with Yamato and Sachi, but because it was a huge secret to be keeping to herself.

But Ino was terrible with secrets and it was hard enough to worry about Yamato and Sachi spilling the beans all the time. She didn't need to be worried about Ino, too.

It was Ino's turn to pick the restaurant and she had picked the swankiest place in Konoha. They might as well have been on a date with the romantic candles and dim lighting.

They were led to a small booth in the very back of the restaurant where they had a complete view of every patron.

It all felt very fishy to Sakura.

"Are you planning something?" Sakura asked as she took her seat. Ino had gone straight for the bench facing the rest of the restaurant, leaving Sakura to have her back turned to everyone.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Sakura pursed her lips and gave Ino a knowing look.

"Okay, fine," Ino conceded, "Temari is in town."

"So?"

"So, I think there's something going on between her and Shikamaru."

"Does that bother you?"

"Of course not," Ino said flippantly. Sakura believed her, but she still felt uneasy about the whole situation. "I'd be happy if they were together. They make such a cute couple."

"Then why are we spying on them?"

Ino shushed Sakura and ducked her head down behind her menu. She pointed to the front of the restaurant where Temari and Shikamaru had just entered.

"I knew it!" Ino whispered excitedly.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "You're wasting our time together on this."

"It's not wasted."

"But there's a lot of stuff I really wanted to talk about, Ino."

Ino was suddenly all ears. She dropped her menu down to the table and folded her arms, leaning in close to Sakura. "Like what?" she asked.

"Like…"

What _did_ she want to talk about? Itachi's name circled around her mind, begging to be mentioned. She stifled that urge and took a different direction.

"Like Yamato and Sachi."

"You know, Sakura, I still don't really understand where they came from," Ino said, still glancing at Shikamaru and Temari out of the corner of her eye. "Some random shinobi shows up, and then two orphans are suddenly involved. You found the cure without my help, even though I found the entire reason for the existence of the infection. I think you're hiding something about the mission."

Sakura dropped her eyes to her lap.

"Does Tsunade know?"

Sakura shook her head.

"So there _is_ something that you're hiding?"

Sakura nodded.

"Well, what is it? Tell me." Ino demanded.

Sakura shifted in her seat. The waiter approached the table and set down their drinks in front of them before disappearing into the back of the restaurant.

"It's complicated, Ino," Sakura finally said, "And I'm not sure if it's safe to tell you."

"Safe?" Ino asked, "What the hell does that mean? Are you in danger? Does it have something to do with Yamato and Sachi?"

"Okay, listen," Sakura said, her voice taking on a lower decibel, "I will tell you everything, but you have to promise to keep this quiet. I'm serious, if you tell anyone I could get into serious trouble."

Ino's eyes were wide and she leaned closer to Sakura over the table, Shikamaru and Temari completely gone from her mind.

"The man – the shinobi – that came to Toyeiki, it was Itachi," Sakura whispered, "He brought Yamato and Sachi with him."

"What?" Ino shrieked. Her voice was loud and stark in the comforting din of the restaurant. Every pair of eyes turned to look at her.

Shikamaru and Temari, who had just been seated, turned to look at Ino, too. Shikamaru rolled his eyes and turned back to the table, but Temari grabbed him by the ear and dragged him back to Sakura and Ino's table.

"What are you guys doing here?" Temari asked with a smirk, "Are you on a date?"

Shikamaru stuffed his hands into his pockets and sighed.

"Uh, no," Sakura stammered, "We were just having a nice dinner together – you know, to catch up. It's been a while and I'm just filling Ino in on all the juicy gossip."

Sakura snuck a glance over at Ino, who was still gaping at her. She could see the cogs whirling behind her eyes. This was dangerous information and Ino was bound to spill it any second now if she couldn't get herself together.

"What's the gossip?" Temari asked, "It must be good to have Ino drooling on herself like that."

Ino snapped her mouth shut.

"Maybe we should go…" Sakura said.

"You haven't gotten your food yet," Shikamaru pointed out.

Sakura ignored him and yanked Ino out of her seat. They couldn't stay here now. They shouldn't have even been there to begin with.

"Bye-bye, then," Temari called after them with a jubilant wave as they stalked back to the restaurant entrance.

Sakura regretted ever opening her mouth.

.

"Itachi?" Ino squealed, "Itachi? Are you serious? Itachi Uchiha, older brother of Sasuke, the man we both committed our love to? That Itachi?"

"Shh, Ino, keep your voice down," Sakura urged.

They were back in Sakura's apartment. All the lights were dimmed, creating an atmosphere very similar to the one in the restaurant. Sakura poured Ino a glass of red wine. It might have been risky, but Sakura knew that the wine would dull her sense a bit and leave her more relaxed. And she definitely needed Ino to be relaxed right now.

"Yes, Ino, _that_ Itachi."

Ino chugged half of her glass and slammed the remainder onto the coffee table. "And he didn't try to kill you? I know you didn't fight him. There's no way you'd come out of that alive."

Sakura ignored the jab. "We made a deal," she offered, "He was sick and he had Yamato and Sachi with him. Fighting me wouldn't have been in either of our best interest."

"What was the deal?"

"He was infected and I really needed to see how his body reacted to the bacteria, so I offered to heal him if he let me study him," Sakura explained.

"And he agreed to that?"

Sakura nodded.

"What about Yamato and Sachi?" Ino asked, "Where did they fit into this?"

"I'm not sure exactly how he came to find them," Sakura said. She felt nervous all of sudden, baring all her secrets for Ino to scrutinize. What would Ino have done differently had she been in Sakura's position? Would she have struck a deal with Itachi or would she have tried to fight him?

"Do you think it was something… untoward?" Ino asked.

"I don't know. Probably," Sakura answered, "But he was asking about an orphanage. There used to be one in Toyeiki. That's why he was there."

"Let me get this straight," Ino said, "Itachi was taking two orphans (who he probably had a hand in orphaning) to Toyeiki so that he could drop them off somewhere they would be safe."

"Exactly."

"What a sweetheart," Ino said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. It made Sakura's heart clench up painfully. "So how did you end up with Yamato and Sachi?"

"I told him that I'd take them back to Konoha with me if he promised not to hurt me or anyone else in Toyeiki," Sakura said.

"He promised not to hurt you…"

Sakura nodded.

"And that's why you didn't tell anyone?"

Sakura furrowed her brow. She hadn't told anyone because she thought she might get into trouble. It never occurred to her that calling for backup like Ino had would have been the right thing to do. She could have studied the infection in the days that she waited for backup.

She felt sick to her stomach thinking about possibly betraying Itachi. He had done nothing to hurt her – just as he had promised. He had been far more accommodating than she expected him to be.

And that was the problem, wasn't it? That was the reason this secret felt so overwhelming. She couldn't explain Itachi's behavior.

"Itachi was… not at all like you'd expect," Sakura said.

Ino crossed her arms, waiting for a better explanation.

"You should have seen him with Sachi, Ino," Sakura gushed, "He was so sweet and tender with her. It was so weird seeing him like that. He read books to her and he held her when she cried."

Ino's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"And he was nice to me, too," Sakura continued, "I was openly hostile toward him. I said things that should have provoked him, but he was never anything less than cordial. He even made our meals for us for those few days we were together. He was everything that Sasuke should be but isn't."

"Wow," Ino said, "You've got the hots for him, huh?"

"More like I wish Sasuke acted more like his brother," Sakura muttered, only slightly annoyed.

"He really cooked for you?"

"Yeah, and the kids," Sakura answered, "He was very attentive to their needs."

"Any decent guy would be, Sakura," Ino said after downing the last remnants of wine from her glass.

"Exactly!" Sakura exclaimed, "He's fucking _decent_. Can you believe that? He should have been acting like a monster because that's what he is. He shouldn't be going well out of his way to take care of orphans. He shouldn't have been cooking meals for me. He even offered to stay and help me take care of Kabuto after you left!"

"He did?"

"Yeah!" Sakura was excited now, curling and uncurling herself up on her couch in an effort to dispel some of the weird energy that vibrated in her body. It felt so relieving to be finally telling someone about Itachi.

Ino pursed her lips, staring at the bottom of her empty wine glass. "I think we should tell Tsunade about this."

"No," Sakura said, "Absolutely not." It was exactly what she had been afraid of. Telling the Hokage would only get her into trouble. No harm was done and everyone had gone their separate ways. Why should the Hokage need to know?

"But don't you think something weird is up with Itachi?" Ino asked, "He _is_ a monster, after all. Why would he act that way unless there was something weird going on? Don't you want to know what it is?"

"I do," Sakura said, "But I don't think we should tell Tsunade. I don't want to get into trouble."

Ino rolled her eyes.

"She's not your mentor, Ino," Sakura snapped, "I don't want to be on her bad side. I don't want to risk her dropping me as her apprentice."

"Then I guess we'll just have to figure this out without her help."

.

Ino was around far more often in the weeks after their dinner. She had always been a constant presence in Sakura's life from the time they were small children, but sharing the secret about Itachi seemed to solidify and strengthen their relationship somewhat.

Sakura's initial thought was that Ino was happy that Sakura had trusted her with such sensitive information, but the more she was around the blonde, the more she understood that Ino had really just missed her.

Ino was loud and abrasive. Her personality was polarizing. She had friends, of course. She wasn't unfriendly. But Sakura and Ino had a different kind of friendship. It almost felt like they were sisters sometimes.

After a particularly grueling day at the hospital, Sakura swung by the academy to pick up Yamato. Sachi was still at her parents' house, and Sakura wished that she could spend more time with her. She was still so young, and she seemed to prefer Kizashi's company anyway.

But Yamato and Sakura had grown close over the past months, and Ino had been a big part of that. When Sakura arrived at her apartment with Yamato in tow, Ino was there baking sweets for them.

"Ino, what are you doing here?" Sakura demanded. She sounded angry, but she wasn't. Not really, anyway.

"Oh, I'm just exercising the key you gave me," Ino said with a grin, swirling her batter-covered spatula around in the air, "just to make sure you didn't change the locks on me."

"Why would I give you a key and then change the lock?"

"Because I annoy you."

Sakura had no argument for that.

"And how was your day, Yamato?" Ino asked, "What'd you learn at the academy?"

Yamato launched into a rant about his classmates while Ino listened eagerly, actually entertained by the story instead of bored like Sakura was. Sakura watched them with amusement. Yamato seemed to really like Ino, which was perfect because lately, Sakura and Ino had been splitting orphan duty.

Four days last week, Sakura had to rely on Ino to pick up Yamato while she worked late at the hospital. The week before that Sachi had wanted to attend a play (something about a Princess Coco) that Sakura couldn't take her to because she was busy working on a poison antidote. Ino had been the one to take her.

Sakura's parents would gladly have done those things for her – for the kids, but Sakura didn't want to rely on them too much. It was already bad enough that she had burdened them with a couple of young kids just after their first one was grown and out of the house.

Whatever disappointment she felt in herself for relying on other people so much was overshadowed by the happiness that radiated off Yamato and Sachi. They adjusted well to their lives in Konoha. They were surrounded by people that loved and cared for them. It was exactly what Itachi would have wanted for them.

When Ino had finished baking and placed her confections on the table for Yamato, she fixed Sakura with her most intimidating stare (which really wasn't all that intimidating while she was covered in flour).

"Uh, what's wrong, Ino?" Sakura asked, pilfering a treat from the tray.

"I have something I'd like to discuss with you," she said matter-of-factly, "And Yamato, too."

Yamato, who was happily munching on said treats, perked his ears up at the mention of his name. Warily, Sakura joined him at the table and looked at Ino expectantly.

"Sakura, I know your _secret_ had been on your mind lately," Ino started. Yamato glanced over at Sakura with curiosity. "I think it's time we address it."

"With Yamato?" Sakura asked. She didn't like the sound of that at all. Yamato was too young to be involved in matters like this. Not to mention that his status as a Konoha citizen was still in question until all of the paperwork was complete. The paperwork would likely not be completely anytime soon, since Yamato's parentage was an unknown. Tsunade's generosity spurred the whole process, and Sakura didn't want to do anything that would mess that up.

"Yes, with Yamato," Ino said, "He's kind of a crucial part of this."

"Part of what?" Yamato asked.

"Yeah, part of what?" Sakura echoed.

"We've got a mystery on our hands, people!" Ino exclaimed, "And the only two (three, I guess, if we include Sachi) people who can help are you guys!"

Sakura sighed and narrowed her eyes.

"I'm talking about Itachi, obviously," Ino said, unimpressed by the minute reactions from her two audience members.

Yamato gasped. "You know about Itachi?" he asked, "Sakura-san said I wasn't allowed to say his name out loud."

"You aren't," Sakura said.

"Right, right," Ino said, "I know about him, yes. Sakura told me about him bringing you and your sister to Toyeiki."

Yamato looked at Sakura, his face pained.

"What's wrong?" Sakura asked him.

"I thought that was a secret," he said, "I thought you would get into trouble."

"It still is a secret," Sakura insisted, "And I _will_ get into trouble if Ino doesn't shut her huge mouth." She sent a harsh glare in the blonde's direction.

Ino was unperturbed.

"She didn't mean to upset you, Yamato," Ino said in her most consoling tone, "It's just that Itachi is pretty well known around here, and it's very strange that he brought you to Toyeiki."

"Why is it so strange?" Yamato asked, "He helped me and my sister. He was nice to us."

"Yeah, that's what's so weird," Ino said, "Itachi is kind of a bad guy."

Sakura slammed her fist on the table, knocking over several of Ino's baked goods. "Ino, stop," she demanded, "Why are you saying all of this to him?"

"Itachi-san is _not_ a bad guy!" Yamato exclaimed.

Ino help her hands up in front of her chest defensively, "Okay, okay," she said, "I just thought that maybe Yamato would have some of the answers you're looking for. Aren't you still curious?"

"I don't want to bring Yamato into this," Sakura said, crossing her arms over her chest, "It isn't fair to him."

"Bring me into what?" Yamato asked.

"We want to get to the bottom of Itachi's behavior," Ino supplied.

"Ino!"

"Sorry," the blonde muttered, "It makes perfect sense, though. Why _wouldn't_ you ask the one person who'd be able to tell you more about Itachi?"

"Is he really the _one_ person?" Sakura demanded.

"Who else knows him?" Ino asked.

The room fell silent. The three people at the table glanced between one another with apprehension.

"I'll tell you whatever you want to know," Yamato finally spoke, his voice weak. "I don't know why it has to be such a big secret, or why everyone thinks Itachi-san is so bad, but I'd like to talk about him."

Sakura threw a nervous glance at Ino before letting her eyes settle back on Yamato.

"Tell us everything, Yamato," Ino said.


	14. Chapter 14

Itachi woke the next morning with a headache. He was no stranger to headaches, or pain in general, but he vehemently regretted the cup of sake he'd had last night (and the six beers he'd had after).

It had been all too easy to let himself keep drinking. The way it helped him just _not care_ was so enticing. He should care. He shouldn't be drinking, either.

And the hangover that made his head swim and his body wobble was further proof of that (as if he needed any).

Luckily the inn he was staying in was quiet at this hour. The sun had just begun to peek up over the horizon and a calm stillness permeated the air. Perfect conditions to recuperate from a hangover.

Itachi fished a canteen of water from his pack beside the bed and sucked at it greedily. He knew he should eat some food, too, but he couldn't stomach that at the moment. In fact, he couldn't stomach much of anything. Even the thought of standing up felt like too much.

He wondered if Sakura was able to fix a hangover – if she could eliminate the source of his nausea and his headache with some type of medical ninjutsu.

He cursed himself for not heeding her advice. She had told him to avoid getting sick, which he had done so far, but not intentionally. Letting a prostitute grind on him probably wasn't conducive to remaining healthy.

He had ruined her good work in others way, though. She had stripped him of all his pain, fixed him up until he felt brand new. He wasted that fleeting feeling of being completely pain-free by getting drunk and being hung-over.

He wanted to apologize to her. It was silly, and he knew that. But still, the urge to tell her that he was sorry for wasting the precious gift she had given him rose up in his chest and bloomed until he sat up and sucked in a deep breath.

The heaviness, the pressure that was in his chest died down some, but nausea swept over him and he felt bile inching its way up the back of his throat. He took another sip from his canteen and let his body fall back against his pillow.

If Sakura could see him now she would definitely have something sassy to say.

He wondered if she stayed in contact with Yamato and Sachi or if she found a home for them and then moved on. He wouldn't blame her for doing that – for letting someone else take the reigns. It's not like she was in a position to be raising children. But his heart ached at the thought of Yamato and Sachi in the care of complete strangers.

It was a harrowing thought, because Itachi didn't have any real ties to those kids. He shouldn't have cared about them so much. He shouldn't have cared, even in the minute way that he did, about Sakura either.

He chalked those feelings up to essentially being on his deathbed. And the sooner death came; the sooner he could finally have some peace.

.

Itachi had fallen asleep again, and when he woke a few hours later he felt much better. His headache had dulled and his nausea was gone. His stomach gurgled and he knew he needed to get some food in his system.

He also knew that he needed to be back on the road soon.

With a groan, Itachi pulled himself to his feet and made his way back out into the open air. The fresh air felt nice in his lungs, and he had a better sense of purpose while he was traveling.

He ran at a leisurely pace – not the usual full speed he regularly made with Kisame. He hadn't thought about the shark-nin since they parted after the completion of their mission. It startled him that he actually missed the man. They were friends in the loosest translation of the word. It was hard not to be when they spent so much time together.

Kisame had probably covered for him as long as he could. It wasn't a guarantee, of course. Kisame was a man obsessed with his own agency, in spite of being affiliated with Akatsuki. He wouldn't have put forth any real effort to keep Itachi out of trouble, but he might have used his influence to lessen the severity of whatever his "punishment" might be.

Would anyone come after him? They hadn't been in the middle of any plan as far as Itachi knew. The collection of the biju had been temporarily halted and Itachi had no idea when they would start back up again.

Itachi didn't want any part of that anymore. He never really wanted any part of it in the first place. Naruto was the son of the Yondaime – he didn't want to hurt Naruto any more than he wanted to hurt Sasuke, or anyone else in Konoha. It was his duty, even after defecting, to protect them.

But if any members of Akatsuki came after him, he wasn't so sure that he could handle it. Not alone, anyway. Not while he was waiting for Sasuke.

Itachi ran for two days straight, only stopping briefly to eat and catch his breath. It had been months since his trip to Toyeiki, months since he had seen Yamato and Sachi. He felt so far removed from all of the people he cared about. It had been well over a month since he had last seen Kisame or Sakura (and he didn't quite know why Sakura kept popping into his mind).

He didn't want to think about him, but Shisui also crept his way into Itachi's mind. It had been many years since Shisui's death, yet it still felt so fresh and vivid in his mind.

It was hard not to picture Shisui in his final moments – blood running down his face, both eyes ripped from their sockets. It shouldn't have shocked him – or any Uchiha – an eye-related injury. They were common where doujutsu was concerned. But still, Itachi felt sickened knowing that Danzo had taken his eye – just tore it out of Shisui's head like it was nothing more than a grape on a vine.

But Itachi didn't want to remember Shisui that way. Shisui was a hero and a good man. His part in preventing the potential civil war had been just as significant as Itachi's – maybe even more so because he had literally given up his life for it.

He always remembered the Shisui that would sneak him dango after supper when Fugaku wasn't looking. The Shisui who had given him his very first set of shuriken. The Shisui who taught him everything he knew about what it means to be a shinobi.

Itachi clenched his fists, a burgeoning anger nascent in his chest. Danzo had taken Shisui's eye. It was on Danzo's order that Itachi had massacred his family. Danzo was the man pulling the strings from behind the curtain, not caring about the lives he destroyed, the people he hurt. It was all for the sake of Konoha, he'd said. And that might have been true.

But Danzo didn't possess the will of fire that Hiruzen had. He lacked the compassion that all of the Hokages had. He was too much like Tobirama, whom Itachi had studied enough to know that he hated the Uchihas as much as they fascinated him.

Danzo made a choice – one that Itachi was forced to live with. It was a possibility that he never would have considered. It would be out of the question.

And yet, when the plan was presented to him, Itachi agreed. It was the best option. It was the safest way to protect the village. It was the easiest way to handle the growing threat of rebellion.

Had Danzo been in the wrong to suggest such a thing? Hiruzen would never have suggested something so heinous. Hiruzen had always been on Itachi's side. Hiruzen was soft and warm in all of the places where Danzo was cold and calculating. Maybe that was what made them such a good team.

If only Itachi and Shisui had been as good a team. Maybe they could have saved the Uchiha clan.

The smell of smoke and ash halted Itachi in his tracks. He was far enough north now that he was fairly close to Rain. If there was something unsavory going on, it might have something to do with the Akatsuki, and Itachi couldn't risk being caught. But the smell was strong. It had to be a massive fire.

Itachi came to a stop on a tall tree branch and gazed off in the direction of the smell. In the distance he could see smoke rising up high above the trees. It was definitely a big fire.

He probably shouldn't get involved. He had no idea what was happening or who was involved. It could be Akatsuki. It could be Konoha-nin. Either way, it was a huge risk.

But it could also be Sasuke.

Itachi set off toward the fire before he'd even finished the thought. It could be Sasuke.

He sprinted, careful to mask his chakra, and reached a clearing where the smoke was thickest. It would hide him from sight – not from Sasuke, of course, but from anyone else.

Itachi climbed the tree closest to him until he reached the highest point he could comfortably stand on. The smoke was still incredibly thick, even at this height. He wanted to activate his Sharingan so he could see down into the clearing at whatever was happening, but he didn't want to reveal his presence just yet and he needed to keep his chakra masked.

Instead, he waited and listened. Below him he could hear three distinct voices. And one of them definitely belonged to Sasuke. Itachi's heart jumped in his chest and he found it difficult to breath for a moment. Taking slow, deep breaths, Itachi calmed himself down and listened closer.

"That was cool and all," said a male voice, "But what the hell did you do that for?"

"I wanted to see how much chakra I needed to make a fireball that big," Sasuke said. Itachi squeezed his eyes shut against the pain that constricted in his chest. It had been so long since he'd heard his little brother's voice.

"Planning to use it against your brother, huh?" the first voice asked. Itachi's fingers tightened into the bark of the tree.

"Maybe."

There was a rustle of movement below Itachi. The group had started moving.

"So where are we headed next?" a third voice asked.

"We need a medic," Sasuke answered, "We're going to Konoha."

"Isn't that a little risky?"

"I know just the girl for the job," Sasuke replied, "She would never say no to me. I'll sneak in and ask her to come with me. Then we can get the hell out of here."

He must have been talking about Sakura. There was no other medic. Would Sakura follow him as easily as he said? Itachi didn't like the idea of Sakura fighting against him. He had told her that she was not his enemy – never would be. Could he keep that promise if she joined his brother?

Itachi swallowed hard and followed Sasuke and his group out of the clearing, careful to stay just far enough behind that they wouldn't notice him.

.

For the first time in a very long time, Itachi felt a sickening fear bubble up in his chest. It wasn't like the fear he'd felt when he first saw Sakura. It was all consuming, a suffocating presence that blurred his vision and made his skin cold and clammy.

This wasn't the Sasuke that he knew. This couldn't be his little brother.

He'd followed Sasuke and his makeshift team to Konoha, against Itachi's better judgment. He didn't like being so close to the village – it felt too risky. He didn't want to have to fight any ANBU that might be close – or, God forbid that the Hokage send any teams out to hunt him down should his presence be discovered.

It didn't seem fair that Sasuke would always be welcomed back into Konoha with open arms, in spite of abandoning the village of his own volition. Not that Itachi wasn't happy to know that Sasuke always had a home… But it would be nice if Itachi could call Konoha home again, too.

Itachi had learned the names of Sasuke's teammate – Suigetsu, and of course he already knew who Juugo was. He noticed that Suigetsu had the Executioner's Blade – one he recognized to belong to one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. He'd heard far more about that than he'd been interested in from Kisame. Now he wished he'd listened a little closer.

The other, Juugo, was a wildcard. He could tell nothing about his fighting style based on his appearance alone. He only knew of the curse mark.

The shinobi in him was thrilled at the idea of an interesting fight. He could admit that he was curious about their talents and their abilities. He even wanted to see them work as a team with Sasuke.

When it came down to their final battle, Itachi wasn't interested in taking on an entire team instead of just Sasuke. He would make sure that their fight was just between the two of them. Maybe he would tell him parts of the truth – the ones that wouldn't hurt him so much.

Either way, he knew he would need to take out Suigetsu and Juugo first, so he paid close attention to them as they ran, hoping to observe some of their weaknesses.

As for what was soon to be the fourth member of Sasuke's team, Itachi was unsure. He knew relatively little about Sakura's fighting abilities. He certainly hadn't thought to ask her about them in the time they'd shared together.

She was being brought on as the medic, so she would probably stay back anyway, but Itachi didn't plan on losing to Suigetsu or Juugo. She would likely tend to them while he fought Sasuke. That would be best-case scenario, he decided.

He could incapacitate Sakura if she attacked him. He hoped it wouldn't come to that. He hoped she wouldn't try to attack him.

He tried not to let his thoughts linger on what Sakura might be thinking. Did she feel the same camaraderie with him that he felt with her? Would she be reluctant to fight against him, or would she revel in being a part of the takedown of the infamous Uchiha murderer?

Sakura didn't seem like one to revel in killing, but Itachi didn't know her. Not enough to be able to make such an assertion.

The sun was just beginning to set when Sasuke's team arrived in the clearing that Itachi remembered to be an ANBU rendezvous point. He hoped that no ANBU would show up – it would mean unnecessary lives lost.

"Are we going to wait until dark?" Suigetsu asked.

Itachi sidled up close to the trunk of the tree he was perched in and jumped silently down to the branch below so he could listen closer.

"Yes," Sasuke answered, "I need to get to Sakura while she's alone. She's the Hokage's apprentice – I'm sure she won't be alone during the day."

"Wait," Suigetsu said, casually leaning against the trunk of a tree. Itachi thought he seemed far too nonchalant for a shinobi, especially one who was currently being spied on. "We're kidnapping the Hokage's apprentice? I thought we were trying to lay low."

"We're not _kidnapping_ her," Sasuke insisted, "She'll want to come with us."

"How do you know?"

Through the rustling leaves, Itachi saw Sasuke shoot an irritated look toward to Mist-nin. "She's basically obsessed with me," he answered.

Itachi wondered about the truth of that statement. Sakura clearly loved Sasuke. He had gathered that information easily from her. But was she obsessed? She indicated that she wished Sasuke was more like him. She took issue with his behavior. He wasn't perfect, in her opinion. Could she be obsessed with him?

But then again, Itachi didn't think Sasuke was perfect either, and one could argue that he was obsessed with him – for an entirely different reason, of course.

"So we're just going to wait here until it's dark?" Suigetsu asked.

"That's the plan."

.

Itachi didn't want to stay. He couldn't. He had enough information – he could leave and wait for Sasuke somewhere.

He didn't feel safe so close to Konoha. He didn't want to risk being seen, and he couldn't have Sasuke coming across him while they were still in Fire Country. It would attract too much attention and Konoha might interfere.

Leaving, however, was almost as painful as staying. He had been so close to him. He had been close enough to speak his name and have him turn around. It was sobering knowing that Sasuke was so close, that he was safe, and that the time had almost come for him to get his vengeance.

He fled north, not caring that he was traveling directly through Fire Country. No one was looking for him. If any ANBU teams were making their rounds, they'd have found Sasuke and his team first. Itachi wasn't worried that Sasuke would be discovered – he trusted in his little brother's abilities.

He had thought about going to the Uchiha Hideout. It would have been a fitting place for them to have their final battle. But it was deep in Fire Country. Instead Itachi went straight for Sound. With Orochimaru gone, Sound would be the safest place for them to fight without any interference.

It wouldn't be hard for Sasuke to track Itachi's scent. He purposefully left behind vestiges that would help Sasuke find him quicker. He didn't want to prolong the inevitable.

He also didn't want to admit to himself how much he was looking forward to his own death. It seemed immoral in some way, to be so content with dying. Had Shisui felt that way, too, when he threw himself into the river? Had he been looking forward to dying?

Itachi had always felt that Shisui's death had been avoidable. He didn't need to kill himself to get away from Danzo. He could have gone into hiding. They could have taken Danzo and ROOT together.

Realistically, Itachi knew that Shisui was giving Itachi a gift by dying – the Mangekyou. It seemed cruel to Itachi. He could never have done that to Sasuke. Or maybe he could… He'd done much worse, after all. And he appreciated what his cousin had done for him, even if the method was less than desirable.

For months after Shisui's death, Itachi woke from ghoulish nightmares where Shisui's eyeless face followed him around the Uchiha compound during the massacre. That was not what Shisui would have wanted. If he had still been alive, he would have talked Itachi out of it and Itachi would have listened. Shisui probably could have come up with a better alternative.

But there was no use in thinking about that now. The massacre had happened. Itachi had made his bed. Now was the time for him to pay his penance.

.

Itachi found himself a quiet corner of Sound to rest in. He scouted the area, looking for a suitable location for his upcoming battle. He wanted to find somewhere with ample space, somewhere where no innocent bystander would get hurt. That wasn't a particularly hard request to fill in Sound, where there were no more people and space was everywhere.

It was weird how dark and quiet Sound was – so contrary to its name. It might have been a beautiful place at one time, but Orochimaru seemed to have sucked the very life out of the land.

Within the wasteland that was Sound, Itachi found a suitable clearing. It was wide enough in circumference that the battle would not have to be moved if Itachi chose to use Susanno. There were plenty of trees along the perimeter that could be used for cover if necessary. In the southeastern most corner of the clearing was a large rock formation that hid the mouth of a cave from view.

Itachi settled himself down at the mouth of the cave, resting his back against the stone. The air was a bit chilly, but Itachi preferred it that way. Beneath him, the grass was soft and lush, almost as comfortable as his bed back in Rain. Darkness had settled around him and he could hear the first sounds of night crescendo. Crickets chirped nearby. A flock of birds took flight somewhere behind him.

It was the most at peace he had felt in years. Soon everything would be over. All of the pieces of his plan were falling into place. He did not need to orchestrate anymore. He didn't need to pretend to be something he wasn't. He didn't have to play the villain or hurt anyone else.

He let his head fall back against the cool stone and shut his eyes. The wind blew his hair into his face and he let it, unbothered by the tickling sensation. He drew in a deep breath of the chilly air and held it in for one, two, three seconds before he released it in the same cadence.

He should be meditating, he thought. He should be spending his last moments free of thought, free of emotion. It would make the impending battle easier. It would cut some of the sting out of what he was about to do to Sasuke.

But he couldn't clear his head. In spite of the calmness that had settled around him, Itachi's mind was racing. Itachi never believed that a person's life flashed before their eyes before their death. He was a shinobi – he had been close to death countless times. Never had his life flashed before his eyes. He had even confirmed with Kisame that no such thing had ever occurred for the shark-nin either.

Yet now, all of Itachi's fondest memories came flooding back to him. He remembered eating breakfast with Sasuke before heading out to go on missions. He remembered his mother taking him to the market when he'd been just barely old enough to walk. He remembered Shisui teaching him complicated shuriken jutsus.

He remembered Sakura and her pink hair and the way her chakra felt so cool and soothing as it calmed the inflammation in his heart and lungs. He remembered the way she had gaped at him when he offered to help with her patients, and the shock on her face when he had pulled her into an impromptu hug.

He remembered Yamato and his determination to be a ninja, the way he was constantly twirling that one kunai in his hands. He wondered if Yamato was better at it now that he'd been at the academy for a few months.

And he remembered Sachi and the way she sought comfort from him in a way that no other person had done before. He remembered reading those books to her, and the way she smiled at him so warmly, so unlike any other smile anyone had ever given to him.

The weight of the memories was crushing him, causing his chest to tighten and his breath to become shallow. He wished that Sakura was with him so that she could relieve some of the pain that had returned since their meeting.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the orange pill bottle that she had given him. The pills were long gone. He had taken each one according to her instruction, but after consuming the last one he found himself unable to throw the empty bottle away.

He gripped the bottle in his hand and wondered why his life had flashed before his eyes so far away from his death. Why had those memories come back to suffocate him so long before death would release him from that pain?

Itachi took a shuddering breath and let the pill bottle go. It fell into the grass and rolled a couple of inches away from him. He could stretch his arm out and pick it back up, and he wanted to. But for some reason, he couldn't get his arm to move. His fingers were frozen in place.

He coiled and uncoiled his fingers, testing his ability to make a fist. He interlocked his fingers in front of him and stretched his arms forward.

He reached out for the pill bottle again and his fingers froze, hovering over the translucent plastic. He huffed and scowled because it shouldn't be so hard, and it was just a pill bottle. It didn't mean anything. How could picking it up be any harder than the other atrocities he'd committed?

But in the end he left it there in the grass because it _was_ too hard and he didn't want it to mean anything.


	15. Chapter 15

"So Itachi and Kisame came to kill your father," Ino said, mulling over the words slowly so that Yamato could interject if she was incorrect, "Kisame did the killing while Itachi took you and Sachi away from them."

Yamato nodded, seemingly unperturbed by Ino's casual mention of his father's death.

"And then he took you with him to Toyeiki while Kisame took off in a different direction?" Ino finished.

"That's right," Yamato confirmed.

"Do you know where Kisame went?" Sakura asked. She assumed that he probably headed back toward Akatsuki's base, which would be useful information to have.

"I don't know," Yamato said.

"Well, it's not as helpful as I would have liked," Ino said, tapping her lips with an expertly manicured finger.

"Thank you for telling us, Yamato," Sakura said in her most appeasing tone, "Now let's get you home."

Sakura glanced at Ino who was watching them both. Her mind seemed to be elsewhere. She made no effort to hide her annoyance at having no luck with gathering new information. Sakura felt that it was rude and unnecessary – Yamato had done exactly what she'd asked him to do.

But she also understood the blonde's frustration. They were at a dead end again. It seemed that information about Itachi was not readily available. Who'd have thought?

Ino had suggested that she use her Mind Transfer jutsu on Yamato, much to Sakura's dismay. She was outraged that Ino would even suggest such a thing – like Yamato hadn't willingly offered up all of the information he had anyway. Even though Yamato didn't know much about Itachi's life in Konoha, he wanted to learn more about him just as much as Sakura and Ino did.

Sakura was careful not to let Yamato and Sachi know about Itachi's crimes. She didn't want to demonize him in their eyes until she had learned the truth about him – if there even was a truth. She was beginning to suspect that it was all her imagination and that nothing suspicious was going on at all.

Sakura dutifully walked Yamato home and left without greeting Sachi or saying anything to her parents. It was unlike her, so her parents probably chalked it up to being in a bad mood. She hoped that Sachi wouldn't be too offended, but all she wanted was to go home and crawl into bed.

"God, why are you still here?" Sakura asked when she walked back into her apartment, spotting Ino devouring the rest of her baked goods at the table.

"I have a plan," Ino said, licking sugar from her fingers. "Well, I have the first inkling of a plan."

Sakura gave her a skeptical look. Ino's plans were notoriously half-baked, and if even she recognized that this one wasn't up to par, then it must have been a bad plan.

"Look, Ino, I'm exhausted and I can't deal with this right now," Sakura said, "Can we do this later?"

"Yeah, yeah," Ino said, pushing herself away from the table and meandering to Sakura' front door, "You're off tomorrow. Meet me at the training grounds at noon. I'll have the plan worked out by then."

Sakura didn't argue.

.

The next day, Sakura woke up early to go to her parents' house. She wanted to apologize for her brusqueness before and spend some time with Sachi before she met with Ino.

"Are you having trouble at work, Sakura?" her mother asked. Sakura was sitting with Sachi in her lap as the girl flipped through the pages of a book.

Sakura stared at her mother for a long time before an answer came to her. Mebuki was perceptive, always noticing Sakura's foul moods before Sakura even realized she was in one. She was grateful to have a mother so understanding and patient with her. She was the perfect foil of Sakura's father, who was notoriously oblivious to her moods.

"No," Sakura said, "I've just got a lot on my mind right now."

"Is it Sasuke?" Mebuki asked.

"Yes," she lied. It didn't feel like a lie because Itachi was really the one who was bothering her. To some extent, Sasuke was bothering her, too.

"I wish I knew how to help you," Mebuki said. Sakura was refreshed by her candor. Everyone was constantly trying to reassure her that everything would be alright and that Sasuke would come back. It was a ridiculous thing to say, especially to a shinobi. And even if Sasuke did come back, Sakura was certain that things wouldn't just go back to normal, if they could ever have been considered normal in the first place.

"It's okay, mom," Sakura said, squeezing Sachi a little bit tighter, "You've always been really supportive of me and I appreciate that."

"I just want you to be happy."

Sakura resisted the urge to sigh. She didn't think it was possible for a shinobi to be truly happy. There would always be conflict and fear – if not for her own life then certainly for the lives of her comrades.

"Yamato and Sachi make me really happy, mom," Sakura said.

"They make us happy, too," Mebuki said with a wide grin. Sakura grinned back, unable to resist. Maybe that was enough. Maybe fleeting moments of happiness were enough to outweigh the cloud of fear and danger that loomed over every shinobi.

.

When Sakura arrived at the training grounds, she was surprised to see that Sai was sitting beside Ino. They both smiled at her as she approached.

"Sakura!" Ino said, waving her over.

"Did you finalize that plan?" Sakura asked, making sure her tone conveyed that she did not believe that Ino would have finalized the plan.

"Sort of," Ino replied, earning an annoyed and yet somehow also pleased look from Sakura. "I asked Sai for help."

Sakura turned to Sai and gave him her brightest smile. It had been a while since she'd seen him and she'd forgotten how much she had grown to love his company. It had been awkward at first, but his intentions were good and she let his little social blunders slide.

"My father told me about an underground base that the ROOT members used," Ino said, "I think we might find some information down there regarding Itachi's missions."

Sakura sent a warning look to Ino.

"Don't worry, I already told Sai everything," Ino said.

Sakura growled. "I knew I couldn't trust you with a secret."

"I've got it under control, Sakura," Ino said, the smile never leaving her face. "After I left your place last night I went back to the Hokage tower to look through all of the old mission dossiers."

"You went sleuthing without me?"

"You said you were tired."

Sakura glared at her, crossing her arms over her chest. She hadn't been expecting Ino to be so interested in Itachi. She had only told her about him because she wanted to get the secret off her chest. Now she was regretting that decision.

"Aren't you interested in what I found?"

"What did you find?"

"All of the information about Itachi's prior missions was still there, with a few bits of redacted information. His final mission was completely redacted. There wasn't a single thing that was left in the file," Ino explained.

"How is that helpful?" Sakura demanded.

"If I may," Sai interjected, "Much of the redacted information from the archives is kept in ROOT's underground base."

"So that's why we need Sai," Sakura said.

Ino grinned even wider, "Exactly!"

"I won't be able to sneak either of you down there with me," Sai said, "But I'm confident that I can get inside and find the information you're looking for."

"Why would you do this for us, Sai?" Sakura asked, concerned, "It seems like a pretty huge risk for you. Aren't you already in hot water with ROOT?"

"You're my friends," Sai said, his grin matching Ino's, "And you need help."

Sakura bit her lip and looked down at her feet. They didn't really _need_ his help because they didn't really _need_ to know about Itachi. She felt very selfish for wanting Sai to help (which she most definitely did). If what Ino had said was true, then the redacted information from Itachi's file was exactly what she was looking for.

"Please be careful, Sai," Sakura pleaded, "I don't want to lose you, too."

"Do not worry, Sakura," Sai said, "You will not lose me."

.

Ino and Sakura went back to Sakura's apartment. Sakura had to hand it to Ino – she had found more about Itachi than Sakura had, and her plan was fairly substantial. If Sai could get Itachi's mission file, they'd be golden.

Sakura didn't like the idea of Sai going in alone, but there wasn't much she could do about it. He was right. Taking Sakura and Ino with him would slow him down and make them significantly easier to catch – especially since they knew nothing about ROOT's headquarters.

Waiting for him to come back was agonizing. She assumed it would be over quickly. Sai would simply go in, take what he needed, and leave. Lingering around too long meant risking getting caught.

But after an hour, Sakura and Ino both grew restless.

"We could spar to pass the time," Ino suggested.

Sakura didn't think she was in the best frame of mind to be sparring. She was distracted and didn't want to let Ino get her with her Mind Transfer jutsu. There were all kinds of conflicting thoughts in her head right now and she certainly didn't want Ino to be privy to any of them. She'd lost a little bit of her faith in the blonde after she'd told Sai her secret.

"Actually, I think we should help Yamato with his training instead," Sakura countered, "I want to see what he can do now. I heard from his academy instructors that he's got impeccable aim."

"Alright, let's do it," Ino said with a little too much enthusiasm.

Together, Ino and Sakura collected Yamato from his home and walked with him to the training grounds. Sakura enjoyed the amicable silence that filled the air around them as they walked. It was rare to be with Ino and not be bombarded with constant chatter.

Yamato's eagerness showed in his perpetual grin. Sakura could tell that he was excited to show off what he could do.

When they arrived at the training grounds, Yamato surprised Sakura and Ino by immediately launching an attack at them. Four shuriken flew at them, flung from his tiny hands. They dodged them and glanced at each other with amusement.

"We need to lay some ground rules first, Yamato," Sakura chided, but she was smiling.

He shrugged indifferently.

"Let's start with taijutsu," Sakura said, "Sound good?"

"Are you going to use your chakra enhanced strength?" Yamato asked.

"No chakra," she answered. That would hardly be fair.

The trio sparred for several hours, Sakura and Ino against Yamato. Sakura noted that Yamato favored shuriken and kunai over hand-to-hand combat, and that his aim was indeed spectacular for someone his age. He was a far cry from the boy that had attacked her with a single kunai outside Toyeiki.

He had even learned how to bend and redirect his weapons with a skill that surpassed Sakura's. She wasn't necessarily the best with that particular skill, but it was impressive nonetheless that he was able to best her at it.

When they finished and had collapsed near the outer perimeter of the training grounds, panting and sweaty, Sakura beamed with pride. It was obvious that Yamato had been putting great effort into his training. She couldn't have been more proud of him, and with a pang of sorrow, she thought Itachi would have been proud, too.

"You're good, Yamato," Ino said, "Better than we were at your age."

"I'm going to be the best shinobi," Yamato said, his face set with determination, "No one will be stronger than me."

"Aim high," Ino said, grinning like an idiot.

"Maybe Naruto could teach you some cool jutsu," Sakura said, slumping down against a thick tree trunk to catch her breath. "Or maybe Kakashi-sensei could. He knows so many."

"Iruka-sensei said not to worry about learning that stuff until I become a genin," Yamato said, "He said there's too much going on in the village right now for me to be pestering people about it."

Sakura hummed in response because that was probably true. Still, she could probably get Naruto or Kakashi to do her a solid and teach him something cool. She wished she had something she could teach him, but he probably wasn't interested in learning medical ninjutsu.

They sat in companionable silence for several minutes, watching the sun as it slowly dipped down below the horizon. The air seemed to still, but it was oddly calming and Sakura felt herself relax into the grass.

It had been a while since she had sparred with anyone. It was regrettable, of course, because she was a shinobi and she needed to stay sharp, but her duties at the hospital had always taken precedent. It didn't help that nearly every mission she was assigned to was medical in nature. She wasn't complaining about it – she knew what her strengths were. She just hoped that in the future she would have more time to devote to her fighting skills.

"I'm getting hungry," Ino said just as her stomach grumbled loudly.

"Yeah, we should get going," Sakura said, "Sai must be done by done."

Sakura and Ino walked Yamato back home, making sure to stop inside and spend a few minutes with Sachi while they were there.

When they arrived back at Sakura's apartment, they weren't surprised to find Sai sitting on her stoop. He stood to greet them, and instead of his usual impassive face, he wore a somber expression. It worried Sakura.

"Sai?" Sakura asked.

"We should go inside," he said.

Once they were inside and seated around Sakura's table, Sai pulled a file out of his pouch and placed it in the center of the table.

"This file details Itachi's last mission," Sai said, "All of the redacted information is there."

Greedily, Sakura snatched the filed from the table and opened it. Ino hovered over her shoulder to get a closer look. Sakura was careful to read every word, not skimming over anything. She noticed the date – the day of the massacre, who gave the order – Danzo (wasn't he one of the elders? she thought).

With each word, more dread pooled in Sakura's stomach.

"Oh my God," Ino whispered.

Sakura couldn't agree more. _Oh my God._ Her fingers trembled; her heart was thudding in her ears. For a moment, she felt dizzy and her vision tunneled.

It explained nearly everything – Itachi's behavior, the reason for the massacre. Sakura felt a pulsing anger at the Konoha elders for even suggesting a mission like this to Itachi. The Third that she knew would never have agreed to this. Or would he? She didn't know anymore. And how could Itachi have accepted such a mission? Sakura knew that she would never have been able to do what he had done. Maybe that was why he was a better shinobi than she was.

"Why would he have accepted a mission like this?" Ino said, her voice barely above a whisper.

"To protect Sasuke," Sai provided, "If Itachi had refused the mission, it would have fallen to ROOT. They would not have left Sasuke alive."

Nausea worked its way up in Sakura's throat and she rushed to the kitchen sink, knocking over her chair in the process. She retched, dry heaving into the sink. It hurt and she couldn't breathe.

"He killed his parents," Ino said, her voice distant, "His friends and family. All to protect Konoha from a civil war."

"He saved us," Sakura said, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

"He had no choice," Sai said.

Sakura came back to the table and righted her chair. Instead of sitting, she gripped the back of it with white knuckles and leaned against it.

"I don't understand," Sakura said, "Why did he torture Sasuke the way he did? Why did he join Akatsuki? If he was always interested in protecting Konoha, then why go after Naruto?"

"There's something else I need to tell you," Sai said.

Sakura and Ino watched him expectantly.

"Tsunade gave Team 7 a mission," he said.

Sakura furrowed her brow. "Why was I not informed of this?" she demanded.

"You were not included," he answered, "It's meant for me, Kakashi, Yamato, and Naruto. We were instructed to find Itachi. We received intel that Sasuke was on the move again. He assembled a team to kill his brother and is actively searching for him now. If we get to Itachi first, we can stop Sasuke and bring him back to Konoha."

The nausea returned, but Sakura bit back against it, squeezing her eyes shut.

"You weren't told to kill him, were you?" Ino asked.

"Our instructions are to capture him alive."

That was good, Sakura thought. If her team got to Itachi first, things could work out fine. Itachi wouldn't attempt to kill anyone – only incapacitate them. If he was captured alive, Sakura could tell Tsunade the truth and make an argument for his release. They couldn't possibly hold him accountable for his criminal actions after knowing the reason he committed them.

The only problem left would be Sasuke. How would Sasuke react to the truth?

"When do you leave?" Sakura asked.

"Two days from now," Sai answered.

"What are we going to do?" Ino asked.

Sakura sucked in a deep breath and sat down in the chair. She really wanted to go to Tsunade and ask her for advice. She would know exactly what to do. But while Itachi was still technically a criminal, she couldn't risk the trouble she might get in for cavorting with him. Tsunade didn't play favorites and she wouldn't give Sakura any special treatment if she found herself in trouble.

"We should keep this information to ourselves for now," Sakura said.

"I agree," Sai said.

"We'll hope that your mission will be successful. Then we can worry about Itachi later. Right now we should focus on getting Sasuke back home," Sakura said.

Sai and Ino hummed their agreement. They sat in silence for a minute, nobody quite sure of what to say in such a delicate situation.

"I should get home," Ino said, breaking the silence.

"I'll walk you home," Sai offered. Ino gave him a small smile and they both made their way to the front door.

"Try to get some rest, Sakura," Ino said, turning back to look at the pink haired woman who sat still at the table, her head bowed, "I'll come visit you at the hospital tomorrow, if you aren't too busy."

"Okay," Sakura said, her voice small and strained. She knew that sleep wasn't going to come easy tonight.

When Sai and Ino had gone, Sakura made her way up to her bedroom and curled up into her bed. She couldn't get Itachi's face out of her mind. She tried to recall every time he had made himself present.

The first time he'd come back to Konoha after the massacre he approached Naruto with the intent of capturing. But he _didn't_. From what she knew of the man, he was more than capable of tackling a genin. He had also faced Kakashi, Asuma, Guy, and Kurenai. He could have killed them – Kakashi had told her so. But he let them live.

And he let them live again when he came across them during Gaara's rescue mission. He hadn't even hurt any of them. Not substantially, anyway.

Hot tears prickled at the back of her eyes. The unfairness of it all struck a painful chord in Sakura's chest. Itachi was a shinobi taking orders just like everyone else. He had been dealt the worst hand and accepted it with such tact. Even when the village hated and rebuked him, he still chose to protect them.

And Sasuke. When he had asked her about Sasuke back in Toyeiki, she had been angry. What right did he have to ask about the brother he abandoned and tortured? But he had accepted the mission solely to protect him. From their conversation, it seemed like Itachi still cared very deeply about Sasuke. If that was true, how did he feel knowing that Sasuke's one goal was to kill him?

Sakura stared up at the ceiling, willing herself to fall asleep. Her heart was still racing and the tightness in her chest was distracting. She could never fall asleep like this.

A tap at her window jolted her back to reality. The only person who ever came to her window was Naruto.

With a groan, Sakura got to her feet and wrapped her robe around herself. Maybe talking to Naruto would help put things into perspective for her. He had always been good with sticky things like this.

But when she reached her window, it wasn't Naruto's face staring back at her.

It was Sasuke's.

She yelped and took a step back away from the window. For a moment, she imagined that it was Itachi there instead, but she knew Itachi's face. It was recent and fresh in her mind. Sasuke's face, however, was more like a mythical figure. It had been so long since she had seen him. It didn't seem real. Why would he be here?

"Let me in, Sakura," he demanded, tapping on the glass again.

Sakura swallowed hard and unlatched the window.

"Sasuke-kun," she breathed.

He hopped through the window and stood in front of her. He was tall and imposing and looked far more villainous than Itachi had when she first stumbled across him outside Toyeiki. His eyes were red, the tomoe of his Sharingan stark against the uncharacteristic brightness there.

She couldn't look away from him, but seeing the active Sharingan in his eyes made her drop her gaze to his mouth instead. It was set in a hard, determined line.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I need you to come with me."

She nearly choked. Almost four years ago Sakura had pleaded with Sasuke to take her with him. She'd have gone anywhere with him as long as he wanted her to.

Now, though, she wasn't sure.

"Why?"

"Does it matter?"

A little of her boldness returning, she glared at him. "Yes, it does," she said, "I have a job, you know. I work at the hospital. People depend on me."

"I'm depending on you now," he said.

"For what?"

He pressed his lips tighter together, and Sakura remembered this as one of the things that indicated that he was annoyed. And if Sakura remembered correctly, Sasuke had called her annoying on more than one occasion.

"I need a medic," he said, his voice carefully controlled like he was trying to prevent himself from snapping at her.

Sakura inhaled sharply. Kabuto had told her that Sasuke was assembling a team to kill his brother. Was he asking her to be part of that team?

"Why?"

"You know why, Sakura."

Now it was Sakura's turn to press her lips together. Sasuke had made it clear that he did not want anything to do with her. He admitted that he thought she was weak and annoying. Now he wanted to come back and demand her help? She couldn't blame him for wanted her as his medic. She was the best, after all. But he had no right to demand her help. And she didn't want to give it to him.

"I'm not going to help you kill Itachi," she said.

He laughed, a dark and ominous chuckle. It sent a tingling vibration coursing through Sakura's chest. "Don't be ridiculous," he said "You won't have anything to do with the killing part."

"Either way," she said, "I'm not going to help you. Find another medic."

"I don't want another medic," he said, his brows knit together in a confused glare.

"I don't want to help you."

Sakura considered telling Sasuke the truth right then and there. Itachi's mission file was still downstairs on her kitchen table. It was undeniable proof of what he had done. He would reconsider his plan for revenge, surely. How could he still hate his brother even after knowing the lengths he'd gone to in order to protect him?

But this wasn't Sakura's secret to tell. She didn't know what Itachi's plan was, but he had to have one, right? He knew Sasuke wanted to kill him.

Sakura gasped. He knew that Sasuke wanted to kill him. He was going to _let_ Sasuke kill him. That had to be his plan. He would never kill Sasuke – that much Sakura knew. He was going to let Sasuke find peace this way, by letting him get his revenge.

The realization hit Sakura sharply, and she didn't even try to stop the tears that fell. She wished that it had been Itachi at her window instead of Sasuke, so that she could talk some sense into him and make him reconsider. He didn't need to die. He could tell Sasuke the truth.

But maybe he wanted to die, Sakura though. Maybe he wanted to be put out of his misery. The thought made Sakura's tears flow harder, dripping onto the floor at her feet.

"Why are you crying?" Sasuke demanded, a scowl deepening the lines on his face – too many lines for a teenager.

"Get out of here, Sasuke," she said angrily, "I'm not going to help you. You do what you have to do, but I'm not going to be a part of it. I'll be waiting for you here in Konoha when you've returned to your senses."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed and the tomoe in his eyes began to spin. That was the last thing Sakura remembered before darkness filled her vision and consciousness left her.


	16. Chapter 16

Itachi felt Sasuke approaching. His chakra signature was strong and was accompanied by three others – one of whose he recognized to be Sakura's. He got to his feet and brushed the dirt from his cloak. This was it.

He had been waiting almost eight years for this moment and it was finally here. He wished that Sasuke had come alone. He wished that he wouldn't have to waste his energy on Suigetsu and Juugo first. And he wished that Sakura wouldn't be here to witness his death.

But none of that could be helped, and within a matter of hours none of it would matter.

He stood in the center of the clearing, his Sharingan activated.

Within minutes he heard their soft footsteps in the trees and a second later, Sasuke's trio had landed meters away from him. Sasuke looked haggard, his eyes surrounded by purple shadows and the lines on his face deeper than Itachi remember. His face was hardened, his mouth pressed into a thin line, his eyes narrowed.

"Sasuke," Itachi said. The name felt foreign on his tongue, like it wasn't his right to speak it.

"Itachi," Sasuke growled.

"Sasuke, wait!" Sakura yelled. Itachi noticed her then – she was slung across Suigetsu's back. Had she not come here willingly?

Itachi let his eyes stay on her as she struggled to free herself from Suigetsu's grip. She landed a punch square between his shoulder blades and Itachi nearly winced at the crack the echoed through the trees.

Suigetsu dropped her.

"What the fuck," he cursed, "You're supposed to be our medic – not hurt us."

"I never agreed to be your medic," Sakura snapped, but as soon as the words left her mouth she turned her focus to Sasuke who was several feet in front of her with his back turned to her.

"Sasuke, please," she begged, "Just wait."

Sasuke had not taken his eyes off of Itachi. "Suigetsu," Sasuke said, his tone cold and commanding, "Keep her under control."

Sakura clenched her fists at her side and for the first time looked at Itachi. Itachi was surprised when she met his gaze. She had seemed so afraid to look into his Sharingan before, yet now she was staring at him, hardly blinking.

Suigetsu collapsed to the ground, groaning in pain. Itachi mentally thanked Sakura for taking out one enemy for him.

"Sasuke-" Sakura started, but she was cut off by Sasuke's firm grasp on her jaw. His palm covered her mouth and Itachi saw his fingers squeeze tightly around her face.

"Sakura," Sasuke said, "I brought you here for one purpose. If you can't do that then I'm going to have to kill you."

Itachi felt sick and blinked rapidly against the confusion he felt. Could this be his little brother? Was Sasuke capable of killing his own teammate, someone who loved him so dearly?

He took a step forward, intending to intervene on Sakura's behalf. He hadn't planned on getting involved with their affairs, but he couldn't stand by idly while Sasuke killed her.

But she was one step ahead of him and dug her heel sharply into the ground beneath her, kicking up the earth and forcing Sasuke to jump back away from her. Seeming to realize that her reasoning tactic was not going to work, Sakura launched herself directly toward Itachi.

Itachi watched in confusion, unsure of what she planned to do. She didn't look like she was going to attack him.

"I'm not going to let you do this," she said when she was close enough that only he could hear her. She grabbed his wrist and yanked hard with her chakra-enhanced strength and dragged him along behind as she darted back into the woods.

"Sakura, what are you doing?" Sasuke yelled from behind them.

Itachi was at a loss. In his right mind he knew that he should stay and fight Sasuke. This was the moment he'd been looking forward to for far too long.

And yet with Sakura's cool fingers around his wrist and the promise that going with her meant staying with the living for just a little while longer, he was hard pressed to free himself from her grasp and stay.

"Sakura, what _are_ you doing?" Itachi demanded. He kept up his pace behind her. Sasuke was in pursuit, but it looked like Juugo had stayed with Suigetsu.

"I'm not going to let him kill you," Sakura said, "I'm not going to let you die."

Itachi, frustrated by their slow pace and the way Sasuke was quickly gaining on them, scooped Sakura up like he'd done so many times with Sachi and surged forward, quickening his pace.

Well, now he definitely had to postpone his battle with Sasuke until he could get some better answers from Sakura.

She clung to his chest, his fingernails digging into the exposed skin near his collarbone. She was probably annoyed that he had picked her up, judging by the look on her face, but she didn't complain.

"Can you lose him?" Sakura asked.

Itachi didn't answer, but when he landed on the next branch he turned on his heel and fled in the opposite direction. The distance between them and Sasuke was growing, but with Itachi heading right back toward him again, they would pass each other in a matter of seconds.

He saw his brother approaching, a more livid expression on his face than he had ever seen their before. Using a one-handed sign, Itachi cast a genjutsu. Immediately, Sasuke paused in his movements and froze, rooted to the ground.

"He'll break out of that easily enough," Itachi said, "But now we can lose him."

He set her back down on her feet and grabbed her wrist this time. Together, they flew back to the trees, trying to gain as much distance as possible.

Several minutes later, they had found a small alcove created by a thick bunch of trees. Itachi cast another genjustu around them to prevent anyone from seeing them and turned to face Sakura with his arms crossed.

"Well, what's this all about?" he asked. All at once, he was amused, concerned, and a little bit frightened.

She was staring into his eyes again and he was fully aware that he had not yet deactivated his Sharingan.

"You're looking in my eyes," he pointed out.

"I'm not afraid of you anymore."

"I take it this means we're back to being temporary allies."

"You were never my enemy, were you, Itachi?"

He furrowed his brow and swallowed. In Toyeiki she seemed quite determined to learn the truth about him. Had she been successful?

"How much do you know?" he asked.

"I know about your final mission as a Konoha-nin," she replied, "I know you aren't the monster you led us all to believe you were."

He couldn't believe that she had found out such a well-hidden secret. Either he had underestimated her, or the secret wasn't as well kept as he thought.

"I'm still a monster, Sakura," he said and he wished his voice didn't sound so weak, "I committed a terrible crime."

"You are as much a victim of it as the people you killed," she whispered, "You were trying to protect us – the village I mean. And Sasuke. If anyone here is a monster, it's the elder who gave the order."

Itachi's breath felt shallow and pain curled up in his throat. It was such a relief to know that someone else finally knew the truth, so why did it hurt so much? He sucked in a ragged breath and released it shakily.

Sakura pressed her hands to his chest, alight with chakra before they contacted his body. "Are you alright?" she asked.

No, he wasn't. It was too late to ever be alright again.

"Sakura," he murmured. Her chakra was flowing through him now, reaching every bit of pain and tension in his body and soothing it. He wished he could have had her around long ago. He couldn't fathom a better sensation than her cooling chakra.

"You're planning to let him kill you, aren't you?" she asked.

He nodded, because she had already figured it out and there was no use in lying to her – not after all she had done for him, was doing for him now.

"I think you should tell him the truth," she stated. He nearly rolled his eyes. Of course she would think that.

"I can't do that," he said.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Sakura demanded, removed his hands from his chest. He almost reached out and grabbed her wrists to place them back there, but he refrained. "Why do you torture Sasuke like this? Don't you love him?"

"It's complicated," he said. He didn't feel the need to explain himself to her.

"It's not complicated," she insisted, "You're just an idiot. And I can't really blame you for that because you were only thirteen when you left. But honestly, what the hell were you thinking? Why on earth would you set Sasuke down this path? He's consumed by rage and the need for revenge. He's nothing like the little brother you used to know. You killed that part of him – not when you killed your clan, but when you urged him to 'foster his hatred.' What a ridiculous thing to tell a child."

Itachi listened to her rant, his eyes widening with every word. He knew she was right. He had known these things without her telling him. He made mistakes. He wasn't perfect.

He had wanted to shield Sasuke from the corruption of the village leaders. He wanted to preserve his love for the village and keep him safe. In doing so he had inadvertently pushed him in the complete opposite direction and now the best thing he could do for him was to let him get his revenge.

"Killing me will help him find peace," Itachi countered.

"What if he learns the truth?" Sakura demanded, "Do you think he'll be at peace still, knowing that he killed the brother he adored so much, the brother that loved him?"

"He won't find out the truth," Itachi said, sending her a warning glare. He could not prevent her from telling him after he was dead, but he could make sure that she knew he didn't want that.

"You know," Sakura said, cocking out her hip, "I don't know much about clan politics, but I think you're giving Sasuke too little credit. He might have been able to help you. You wouldn't have had to do it all alone."

That gave him pause. He had never considered telling Sasuke the truth about the clan's premeditated coup. He was far too young to be swept up in such things. Yet, Itachi had been only four when he experienced war for the first time. Maybe Sakura was right. Maybe he had not given Sasuke enough credit.

"He would never believe me," Itachi said.

"I'll back you up," she said, "I have proof."

Proof?

"Besides," Sakura continued before he could ask, "The Sasuke who loves you is still in there. That Sasuke would never believe you capable of the things you did. He'd believe you because it makes perfect sense."

Itachi inhaled and held his breath in, thinking hard. Everything Sakura said was true. And if he could get Sasuke back on his side (or rather, if he could be back on Sasuke's side), then they could take out Akatsuki and Madara together. Sasuke was strong – he'd seen how powerful his little brother had become. They could be a team, like he'd always wanted.

"You're right," Itachi said.

"Obviously."

Itachi laughed. Running into Sakura in Toyeiki had been the last thing he wanted. Now he was so glad he'd found her.

"I didn't believe you'd find out the truth," Itachi admitted, "I was certain you were going to either betray me or forget about me completely."

"It's your own fault that didn't happen," Sakura told him, "Your behavior really struck a chord with me. I couldn't stop thinking about you once I got back to Konoha."

"I thought about you, too," he said.

Her brow furrowed and she cocked her head to the side. Itachi had a feeling that he should have kept that information to himself.

But before she could say anything else a branch snapped in the distance. Itachi realized how close they were standing and took a step back away from her.

"Sasuke's coming," Itachi said, "You should get out of here. Go back and heal Suigetsu's back."

She opened her mouth to protest, but then closed it. He couldn't stop staring at her and how out of place she seemed in the darkness of the woods. She was bright and pink and beautiful and it was with a reluctant hope that he realized that she had come here to save him from death.

"Please don't die, okay?" she said.

He reached out to grab her hand, to confirm for her that he wouldn't die – if only so he could see her again, but he caught himself and let his arm fall back down to his side.

He wanted to blame these new feelings on the fact that she knew the truth – and was the only person who did. But he wasn't foolish enough to lie to himself. He had thought of her far too often after leaving Toyeiki.

He watched her turn to leave the alcove.

"Itachi," she said, turning to face him one more time. He met her eyes. "Thank you for what you did for the village. I can't imagine how difficult that was for you, and to have everyone hate you for it… You really deserved better."

A second later she was gone. Itachi was grateful to be alone again so that no one could see how his face screwed up into a pained grimace. No one had ever thanked him for what he had done before. He wasn't sure that he agreed with her – that he deserved better, but hearing the words come from her felt almost as good as her chakra in his chest.

Shaking the emotion from his face, Itachi released the genjutu that had been hiding them and steeled himself for Sasuke's appearance. He could think about Sakura later, but right now he had something more important to deal with.

"Itachi."

Itachi looked up to find Sasuke standing on a branch above him. He hopped down and landed in front of Itachi, close enough that he could reach out and place his hand on his shoulder if he wanted to.

"I wasn't interested in speaking with you," Sasuke said, "I was going to kill you on sight. But now I'm curious. What were you doing with my medic?"

Itachi tried not to bristle at the way he referred to Sakura – not by her name, but like she was a possession. He deliberated on whether he should telling Sasuke about their time in Toyeiki together. What would he think of that?

"She wanted you to know something," Itachi said, "And she thought that you should hear it from me."

Sasuke scoffed. "Really?" he asked, "What could that be?"

"The true reason for the massacre."

Sasuke's eyes widened and he froze in place. The air around them was still and quiet. The sun was beginning to rise and the light in the woods was eerie and dim.

"To test your ability, right?" Sasuke spat, his eyes darkening with anger.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke. I did not trust you with the truth. I wanted to protect you from it. You meant the world to me – you still do. I thought if I lied to you that I could save you from the same fate I had," Itachi said. The words flowed out of him unexpectedly. He never imagined it would be so easy just to talk to Sasuke instead of finding more creative ways to manipulate him.

Sasuke remained silent, a pained expression remarkably similar to the one Itachi wore on his face.

"I would like to show you the whole truth," Itachi continued, "If you will let me."

Some of the rage that burned in Sasuke's eyes had subsided. His hands unclenched at his sides and his shoulders dropped. The man who had come to kill his older brother had somehow morphed back into the one who had adored him.

"Okay," Sasuke said, "Show me."

.

Itachi showed him everything. He showed him his meetings with the Hokage and the clan leaders. He showed him Shisui and their original plan. He showed him Shisui's suicide, the tearful deaths of their parents, and the way he let Sasuke go. He showed him how he received orders from Danzo, how he asked Madara for help, and how he chose to join Akatsuki in order to keep an eye on Konoha to make sure that Sasuke was safe.

When Itachi released Sasuke from the memories, Sasuke fell to his knees, tears brimming in his eyes. His face was contorted with so many emotions – ones that Itachi had been processing for years and that Sasuke was experiencing all in the matter of seconds.

"Sasuke…" Itachi crouched down next to his brother and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. He half expected his hand to be violently pushed away. He almost expected Sasuke to accuse him of lying again, to deny that what he had just seen was the truth. But Sakura was right. When Sasuke looked back up at him, his eyes the same coal black as his own, Itachi could see the boy he had left behind. The boy who wanted nothing more than to train with his older brother.

"Why didn't you tell me before?" Sasuke asked in a whisper. "Why did you want me to kill you?"

"I made mistakes, Sasuke," Itachi answered, "I'm not perfect and I know that. I understand if you won't forgive me. I wronged you in more ways than one. I thought I was doing what was best for you, but I was wrong."

Itachi shifted so that they were face to face.

"I see now that I should have trusted you with the truth," Itachi said, "I was constantly pushing you away, trying to prevent you from becoming like me. I wanted you to be free from the burdens of being an Uchiha, free from the kind of life I lived."

Itachi paused and took in a shaky breath. His hands were trembling and he felt tears prick at the back of his eyes, but he somehow held them in.

"I didn't give you enough credit," Itachi continued, "Maybe if I had trusted you with the truth things might have turned out differently. Maybe you could have succeeded where I failed."

Sasuke's hand drifted to his shoulder and settled over Itachi's.

"I never stopped loving you, Sasuke, even when you hated me. I will never stop loving you," Itachi said.

Sasuke leaned forward and wrapped his arms around Itachi. Itachi couldn't stop the tears then as he returned his little brother's hug. Why had he ever thought that letting Sasuke kill him was a good idea? His mind raced through all the mistakes he made, all the pain and suffering he dragged Sasuke through.

"I'm so sorry, Sasuke."

A flash of pink in the distance caught Itachi's eye. He gazed over Sasuke's shoulder and saw Sakura standing between Kakashi and Tenzo with Naruto standing in front of them.

He quickly got to his feet, pulling Sasuke up with him. He couldn't be sure that they wouldn't attack him. He was, after all, still a criminal – even if Sakura and Sasuke now knew the truth.

As soon as they were standing upright, Naruto barreled toward them. Itachi, having the good sense not to get involved in whatever was about to happen, leapt backward, away from Sasuke, away from his former teammates.

Naruto landed a punch square in Sasuke's face, knocking him back to the ground. Itachi assumed he deserved it, but coming down from his emotional high, it felt like _he_ had been the one punched.

"You put us through all that shit," Naruto said, seething, "You talked and talked about your one goal and how you couldn't come back to Konoha until it was finished."

Sasuke sat up, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand.

"And you're not even going to kill him!"

Sasuke got back to his feet, glaring at the blonde man in front of him. "How did you know that?" he asked.

From his back pocket, Naruto produced a file that had been folded in half.

"After you _kidnapped_ Sakura," Naruto began. Itachi glanced over at the pink haired woman in question, who sheepishly looked toward the ground. "We went to her apartment to look for her when she didn't show up for work and found _this_ on her kitchen table."

Naruto thrust the file into Sasuke's chest. Sasuke glanced warily at Naruto and then Sakura before opening the file.

It must have been the proof Sakura had mentioned, Itachi thought. But where could she have gotten such a thing?

"So everyone knows, then?" Sasuke said, skimming the file with his Sharingan.

"Just Team 7 and the Godaime," Kakashi supplied as he approached them. His one visible eye drifted to Itachi. It was an intense flurry of uncertainty that caused butterflies to swirl in Itachi's stomach. Kakashi and Tenzo had been his teammates once, and he had fought against them as an enemy. Standing before them now that they knew the truth left Itachi feeling like he was standing in a vacuum.

"Sakura informed us that Sai was the one who retrieved this information from ROOT's underground base," Tenzo said, "Sai is now missing. He did not show up to our rendezvous point for this mission."

Sasuke growled and clenched his fists. "Danzo is the one behind all of this," he said.

"Sasuke, I know you're angry and you want revenge, but we need to take a step back and think about what we're going to do next," Sakura said.

"There is no _we_ ," Sasuke snapped, swirling around to face her, "This is a matter for me and Itachi."

"Sakura is right," Itachi spoke. His voice seemed to make that vacuum real. Everyone looked at him. No one spoke.

"Akatsuki is the biggest threat to the village right now," Itachi continued, "We should be focusing on that."

Itachi tried not to feel intimidated by the way everyone continued to look at him. They were right to be cautious and he felt too much like an intruder, like he didn't belong with them. Technically, he was not their ally.

"Have you defected from Akatsuki, Uchiha-san?" Kakashi asked.

Itachi blinked at the formality. "Not officially," he said, "But I'm sure they are wondering where I am right now."

"We should go back to Konoha," Sakura said, "We should be discussing all of this with Tsunade-sama."

Kakashi nodded in agreement. "Will you cooperate with us, Itachi-san?" he asked, "We could use any information you have on Akatsuki."

Itachi closed his eyes, feeling a dizziness prickle in his head. He must have been dreaming. Not even an hour ago he had been resigned to his fate, accepting the death that would release him from the hell he created for himself.

And now he was standing among his former teammates who were asking him for help. His brother was standing by his side. It was the opposite of what he expected. In a strange way, it made him feel like he was home.

A cooling sensation whipped through his chest and straight up to his brain. He realized that Sakura's hands were on his chest again, pumping her healing chakra into him.

He locked his fingers around her wrist and pulled them an inch away from his chest, just so that they were not touching him. He was sure she could feel the way his heart was hammering in his chest, even without touching him.

"I'm fine," he said to her, "It's just overexertion from my Sharingan."

She took a step back away from him, pulling her wrists out of his grasp. He was both amused and mortified to see the pink tinge in her cheeks and the bashful way she stared at her feet. If anyone else noticed, they had the tact to disregard it.

"I will cooperate," Itachi said, "I'm happy to share any intel you need."

"Wait," Naruto said, "So Itachi is on our side now?"

Five pairs of eyes settled on Itachi again, waiting for an answer. Itachi looked at Sasuke to gauge his reaction. Sasuke had defected from Konoha. Did he want to come back now that Itachi's reputation could potentially be cleared? Did he want to go back home with his teammates now that his quest for revenge had been stayed?

Sasuke's face was as impassive as ever, giving him no indication of what thoughts were behind those familiar and yet somehow still foreign eyes.

Itachi wanted to look at Sakura to see what she thought. He could nearly always read her from her facial expression. But he knew that if he looked at her he would find it too difficult to look away.

"He's under no obligation to go back to Konoha," Sasuke finally said, "And neither am I."

"I want to go back," Itachi said, surprising himself with the determination in his voice, "I want to help get rid of the Akatsuki threat."

Risking a glance at Sakura, Itachi saw that a wide grin had spread across her features. It was infectious enough that he felt the corners of his mouth tilt upward as well.

"Great," Kakashi said, "Let's get back to the Hokage tower."

"Well, Sasuke?" Itachi asked. "Are you coming with us?"

Sasuke begrudgingly nodded and the six of them set off toward Konoha.


	17. Chapter 17

Back at the Hokage tower, six people stood before Tsunade's desk, silent and waiting. The air was thick and still, a tension Sakura hadn't felt since Sasuke left the village.

"This is a lot of information to handle at one time," Tsunade said, her eyes roving over the faces before her. "I'm not sure where to begin."

"Tsunade-shishou," Sakura said, clearing her throat, "I think we should start with Sai. He didn't come to the rendezvous point and he can't be found anywhere. It isn't like him to skip a mission."

"When was the last time anyone saw him?" Tsunade asked.

Sakura's hands were trembling so she stuffed them into her pockets. The last time she had seen Sai was before he left her apartment the night he infiltrated ROOT's base.

"Two nights ago," Sakura answered. "He was with me and Ino. It was the night he found the file."

Silence fell in the room again, everyone's thoughts on ROOT and Danzo. No one had the courage to say aloud what it seemed like everyone was thinking.

Except Sasuke.

"Danzo must be responsible," he said, "Sai figured out the truth and Danzo took matters into his own hands."

"I hate Danzo as much as the next guy," Tsunade said, "But I can't accuse him of anything without proof. This matter needs to be fully investigated. Yamato. Kakashi. Can I trust you with this?"

Both men gave an affirmative nod.

"Look into this immediately," she said, "You are dismissed, but I want you to report back here as soon as you find anything."

They nodded again and were gone within seconds.

"Sasuke," Tsunade said.

Sakura felt a nervous lump form in her throat. Sasuke had made it clear that it was not his intention to come back to Konoha – he had only done so for his brother's sake. If Tsunade said the wrong thing, Sasuke could flee again.

"Naruto went to a great deal of trouble to bring you back here. Sakura, too. You are lucky to have friends like them. They are the reason I won't be punishing you for what you've done," she said.

Sasuke shifted on his feet, a bored expression on his face. Sakura imagined he must have still been reeling from the conversation he'd had with his brother. He probably wasn't interested in anything Tsunade had to say.

"And it's difficult for me not to show you any favoritism since it seems that your brother is actually a hero."

Out of the corner of her eye, Sakura saw Itachi stiffen.

"I'm willing to reinstate you as a Konoha shinobi, Itachi," Tsunade continued, "If you are willing. It will be difficult for our citizens to accept you, but in time they will. You have agreed to help us with Akatsuki, but I'm sure you are aware that you owe us nothing else and I wouldn't dream of asking anything else of you."

Sakura stole a glance at him from the corner of her eye and saw his mouth turned down in a tense frown and his brows knit together.

"Your clan was treated unfairly," Tsunade said when Itachi did not respond, " _You_ were treated unfairly. I cannot blame you – or Sasuke – for the things you have done. So I have to ask. Itachi, what do you want? What can we do to make reparations for the Uchiha clan?"

Sakura felt the tension rolling off of him in thick waves. She wasn't shy this time about turning to look at him, waiting to see what he would say. She noticed that he was trembling slightly and that his breath looked uneven and ragged. She moved to put her hands on him and push her chakra into him as she'd done so many times before, but he put his hand up to stop her.

"Hokage-sama," he began, "I appreciate your offer. I cannot speak for my brother, and I do not know how he feels about all this. But I would like to be reinstated as a shinobi. And I would like the opportunity to restore my clan. I am well aware of the poor treatment of the Uchihas in the past, but I believe that the cause of the bad blood is gone now. I believe that restoring my clan can be a good asset for Konoha."

Stealing a glance at Sasuke, Sakura held her breath. Sasuke's face was as impassive as ever, but she noticed the way that his breathing was also uneven and shallow.

"I agree," Tsunade said, "You will be reinstated as a shinobi effective immediately. Your clan's funds have been frozen, but I will cede control of them back to you. You are rightfully the clan head."

Sakura saw the relief on both of their faces, and contentment that she had never seen on Sasuke's before.

"Alright, then, that's settled," Tsunade said, "Unless either of you have any objections, you are welcome to go back to living in the Uchiha compound."

"What about Akatsuki?" Naruto asked. Sakura was honestly surprised that the loud-mouthed blonde hadn't spoken up yet.

"We'll worry about that some other time," Tsunade replied, "Sakura, take Sasuke and Itachi to the hospital and do a full work up on the both of them. Report back to me when you're done. We have something we need to discuss."

Sakura felt heat flame up in her cheeks and ducked her head. She had a good idea of what Tsunade wanted to talk to her about.

"You three are dismissed," Tsunade said the Sakura and the Uchihas.

Sakura turned to leave and the two brothers followed her with no argument, leaving Naruto alone with Tsunade.

.

"You must be feeling very emotional right now."

Sasuke made no response, grimacing slightly when Sakura stabbed his arm with a needle. It was customary for foreigners or shinobi who had been away from the village for over a year to receive a full medical exam, but Sakura didn't feel like it was really necessary. Kabuto seemed to have taken good care of Sasuke during his absence, and Sakura knew from experience that Itachi had also received top-notch medical care within the last few months.

"I'm glad you're back," Sakura said, giving Sasuke a small smile. She was truly glad that he was back. It was what she had wanted for the last four years. Yet it felt so bittersweet. He was still the same, cold Sasuke.

Sasuke gave her an annoyed look and remained silent. Sensing that Sasuke was not going to be talkative or friendly, Sakura said nothing else and finished his exam as quickly as possible.

When his chart had been filled out completely and his work up was done, Sakura gave a curt nod to the door. "You're all done, Sasuke-kun, you can go."

Wordlessly, Sasuke hopped from the table, rustling the sanitary paper.

"Send your brother in, please," she said to him as he walked through the door. He didn't respond to her, but a minute later Itachi walked into the room.

She smiled warmly at him and indicated that he should take a seat on the table. He obliged and gave her a small smile.

"I know this seems a bit unnecessary," she said, picking up a new chart to create for him, "But your old medical file was archived so I have to create a new one for you. If you'd fill this out for me, I'd appreciate it."

She passed the chart to him. He took it without saying a word and began to fill in his information. She took the opportunity to give him his shots and to use her chakra to run a quick diagnostic check on him, even though she was fairly certain she knew everything she needed to confirm.

The silence wasn't tense or uncomfortable, but Sakura felt uneasy. She wanted to say something to him, but she couldn't figure out anything appropriate to say. He must have felt very strange to be back in Konoha – to be in everyone's good graces again.

But his face was as impassive as Sasuke's and Sakura didn't feel like it was any of her business to ask.

He passed the finished chart back to her. She set it on the nearby cart and took a step back away from the table. "You're all set, Itachi-san," she said. "You're free to go now."

He folded his hands in his lap and watched her as she marked things down in his chart. "That was quick," he said.

"Yes, I already had a good sense of your state of health," she said, "There wasn't much for me to discover. However, your autoimmune disease… I guess I still owe you a fix for that. I apologize for not holding up my end of the bargain."

"Sakura," he said, rolling each syllable of her name over his tongue like honey, "I am only here because of you. You do not owe me anything."

She chortled and felt the corners of her mouth quirk up into a grin. "Still, she said, "If you're going back to active duty, I'd like to eradicate it completely. It's for your own safety."

"It's been a while since anyone was concerned about my safety," Itachi said, returning her smile, "If I am honest, I feel overwhelmed by all of this."

"I can't even imagine what this must feel like for you," Sakura said, "And for Sasuke as well."

"I'm glad to be home."

"We're glad to have you back," she answered, "Now we'll have to coordinate weekly appointments to take care of your autoimmune disease. The front desk can help you schedule those. This is beyond the purview of my orders, but I can also take a look at your eyes if you'll let me. I know that your vision is deteriorating and that there is probably a lot of damage in the nerves. I've only ever worked on Kakashi's before, obviously, but I have a pretty good grasp on how to correct most of that for you."

"That would be fine."

He remained seated on the table and Sakura didn't know what to say. He was free to leave, but he stayed and fixed his gaze on her, watching her with a mixture of curiosity and disbelief.

"Will you be staying in the Uchiha compound?" she asked, not knowing what else to say, "There's a really nice tea house that just opened up close to there."

He quirked an eyebrow at her and she realized that it sounded like she was asking him to go there with her. Her cheeks heated up, but she kept her gaze on him confidently.

"I'm not sure how comfortable I feel staying in the compound," he said quietly, "Maybe at some point in the future, though."

"Oh. Where will you stay?"

"I don't know," he answered, "I thought I might find some place to live with Sasuke."

Sakura smiled brightly. "That would be nice, wouldn't it? I'm sure he's so pleased to have his big brother back."

Itachi smiled back.

"Oh!" Sakura exclaimed, "And I know a couple of kids who'd be pleased to see you, too. They've been very good about not talking about you, but I can tell they miss you. They'll be so excited to see you again."

Itachi's focus seemed to sharpen at the mention of the children, his eyes widening a little. "Have you remained in contact with them? I assumed you'd find another home for them."

"Well," Sakura started, "I didn't want to leave them with a stranger, and I care about them so much. My parents are actually the ones who adopted them, but I've been doing what I can to help them out. I take Yamato to and from the academy every day when I'm not on missions and I support them financially. I didn't feel right burdening my parents with that."

Sakura had never seen Itachi look surprised before, and she was confused to see something akin to sadness in his eyes as well.

"Your parents?"

"They're civilians and they had an empty nest," she answered with a flippant wave of her hand, "Honestly, I think they're over the moon to have kids around again. Especially my father."

"I should have offered you something in return," Itachi said, his voice oddly somber.

"What do you mean?"

"You offered to take Yamato and Sachi here in exchange for me not hurting you," he said, "I never had any intention of hurting you. And you kept them far closer than I expected you would. I should have given you something more."

Sakura laughed. It was ridiculous for him to think that he owed her something after everything he'd done for Konoha.

"Don't be silly – it wouldn't have been good for your villainous image to have offered me _more_ ," she said, "Besides, I care about them as much as you do. I wanted them to have a good home. And they do."

"I'd like to see them."

"Now?"

"If possible."

Sakura inwardly winced. She couldn't take Itachi to her parents' house without having to do a lot of explaining that she really wasn't in the mood for. They were well aware of who Itachi was. She also was hesitant to let Itachi meet her parents. It seemed too weird and almost intimate.

"I have to report back to the Hokage after this," she answered, "But I can meet you at the park with them in a couple of hours, if that's okay."

Sakura was pleased to see his lips quirk up into a smile. "That would be perfect."

.

Tsunade was angry and Sakura could tell.

"Is there something you need to tell me, Sakura?"

Sakura entertained the idea of telling her the truth – that she had worked with an s-class criminal and then lied about it. Or that she had recruited her teammate to infiltrate ROOT's base – the epicenter of Konoha's darkest secrets.

But she shook her head instead.

"Your teammate is missing," Tsunade said, her voice almost mocking, "Now really isn't the time for you to be withholding pertinent information from me. Don't you want to find Sai?"

Sakura sighed and twisted her fingers together nervously. Of course she wanted to find Sai. She couldn't help but feel like it was her fault that he was missing.

"If you are afraid of the consequences, you should be," Tsunade said, "But you are a shinobi and your duty is to the village and to me. I can't help you if you don't help me. I know you are hiding something."

"Okay," Sakura said. There wasn't any point to lying anymore since Tsunade obviously knew that something was up. She supposed she could tell the truth if it meant that they could find Sai faster. She was an adult and she could accept her punishment.

"The shinobi I met in Toyeiki was Itachi," Sakura said. She waited to see Tsunade's response, but the blonde woman merely watched Sakura through narrow eyes, waiting for her to continue.

"Yamato and Sachi were with him. He was the reason they had been orphaned. He had gotten sick from their father, I think," Sakura said, "When I found him I knew I wouldn't be able to fight him, but then I found out that he was sick and I made a deal with him. I told him that if he helped me find a cure – let me study him – then I'd heal him."

Tsunade steepled her hands in front if her face, hiding her mouth, which Sakura knew was set in a hard line. She was angry.

"He offered not to hurt me or anyone else in Toyeiki in exchange for my taking Yamato and Sachi back to Konoha with me," she continued.

"You lied to me," Tsunade said, "And you willingly engaged in mutually beneficial activities with a missing-nin. You realize that you've committed treason, don't you?"

Sakura apologized in a whisper and let her head hang down in shame.

"So after you left Toyeiki, you came home with the kids and had Sai do some research on Itachi for you?" Tsunade asked?

"That's the short of it, I suppose," Sakura mumbled.

"If you had come to me first I could have helped you," she said, her tone much softer, "You should have told me as soon as possible."

"I know, Tsunade-shishou," Sakura said, "I'm sorry."

Tsunade inhaled deeply through her nose and let her hands fall to her desk. "I have to punish you, you know."

"I know."

"What do you think your punishment should be?"

"A slap on the wrist?" Sakura joked.

To her chagrin, Tsunade cracked a smile. "I'm not angry at you for what you did, Sakura. I'm angry that you kept the truth from me."

"I know," Sakura said, "I should have told you. I was afraid I'd get into trouble, but I was desperate for a cure because you trusted me and I was failing."

Tsunade shook her head, not wanting to hear it. "I have a punishment for you," she said, "You're going to spar with me tomorrow. I'm going to kick your ass."

Sakura felt the blood drain from her face, "A spar?"

"All this Uchiha business is frustrating me," Tsunade said, "The council is _not_ happy about this, but at this point I'm not going to condemn Itachi for what he did. I can't even blame Sasuke for anything either. Right now, _you_ are the only person I can feasibly hold responsible for anything, so tomorrow when your shift at the hospital ends, I'm going to take out all my frustrations on you. Be prepared."

Sakura winced, and curled her hands up into loose fists. It was a lighter punishment than she had expected. Suspension from work, no missions for a while, possibly even a demotion. But a _spar?_ It had been a long time since she had sparred with anyone other than Yamato.

"Yes, Tsunade-shishou," Sakura said.

"You're dismissed."

.

"Why are we in such a hurry, Sakura-san?" Yamato asked, "We're just going to the park."

"Because there's a surprise for you," Sakura said, unsuccessfully trying to hold back a grin. She had all but forgotten her punishment for now. She'd worry about that tomorrow. Sachi was perched on her back, her tiny legs wrapped around Sakura's waist. Yamato was two steps ahead of her, leading the way.

It had been quite a challenge to convince Yamato to come to the park. He had said that he was too old for things like that and that he was a ninja now and ninja didn't play at the park.

But he eventually relented when Sakura informed him that Sachi needed to spend more quality time with her older brother and that he was supposed to take care of her. Even though they fought a lot, Sakura could tell that Yamato had an enormous soft spot for his little sister

When they arrived at the park, Sakura noticed that Itachi had masked his chakra. She spotted him sitting on a bench near the swings before Yamato and Sachi did and she gave him a little wave.

Yamato noticed him first.

"Itachi-san!" he exclaimed, barreling toward the bench. Sachi kicked her legs and begged to be put down. Sakura set her on the ground and she was off as soon as her feet touched the grass.

Itachi crouched low in the grass and smiled more warmly than she'd ever seen him. He wrapped his arms around the both of them and pulled them into a hug.

Yamato pulled back away from him first and spun toward Sakura, pointing an accusatory finger. "You said Itachi-san couldn't come here and that we should never talk about him!"

Itachi grabbed Yamato's hand and pulled it back down to his side. "It's rude to point fingers, Yamato," Itachi said, "Sakura was only trying to protect me. She's the reason I'm here now, so you should be thanking her."

Sakura watched them for a while as they got reacquainted with one another. It seemed odd to Sakura that Yamato and Sachi had grown so fond of Itachi in the short amount of time that they'd spend with each other, but then again, she had also grown somewhat fond of him. Or at least not hostile toward him, which was odd enough.

Itachi pushed Sachi on the swing set while he listened to Yamato tell him everything about his time at the academy so far. Sakura stayed near the edge of the park, not wanted to intrude on Itachi's time with them.

Tsunade had mentioned that the council was not happy about her decision to allow Itachi back into the village. It made her sick to her stomach to think that the same man who ordered him to kill his own family was now denying him entry to his own home again. The truth was out and it was too late. Itachi belonged here.

Intuitively, Sakura had a feeling that whatever had happened to Sai was connected to Danzo. It made her nervous. Her eyes flicked over to Itachi, who was smiling as Yamato showed him how he could make three shadow clones. It almost felt like she had traded Sai for Itachi.

She had the sudden urge to find Ino and talk to her. She hadn't seen the blonde since the night they'd read Itachi's file.

When the sun had begun to set, Sakura decided that the time had come for them to leave because she had to work in the morning and Yamato had to go to the academy. Not to mention, Sakura had a spar to prepare for.

"Do we have to leave already?" Yamato asked. Sachi had attached herself firmly to Itachi's leg and refused to let go.

"Yes, you can see Itachi-san another time," Sakura said, prying Sachi away from Itachi, "He lives here now."

Eventually, they both relented and allowed Sakura to take them home, but they both complained the entire way there.

.

When Sakura arrived home that night, Ino was sitting at her kitchen table. He eyes were red-rimmed and puffy and her face was coated with a sheen of fresh tears.

"Ino, what's wrong?" Sakura breathed, rushing to comfort her. She placed a soothing hand on her back and rubbed circles into the tense muscles there.

"Sai is missing, Sakura," Ino sobbed, "And it's our fault."

Sakura pressed her lips together and pulled Ino into her chest, stroking her hair. It had never occurred to her to be this upset about it because she had full faith in Sai's abilities. But maybe Ino was right. Maybe something really bad had happened to him.

"It will be okay, Ino," Sakura whispered, "We'll find him. Kakashi-sensei and Yamato are investigating right now. They'll find him."

"But what if it's too late?"

"Don't say things like that," Sakura said, "It's not too late."

Ino said nothing, but continued to sob. Sakura felt her tears leak through her shirt, making her feel hot and sticky. When her sobs had finally subsided, Sakura pulled back away from her, giving her a questioning look.

"I didn't know you and Sai were so close," Sakura said, the unasked question hanging in the air.

Ino flicked her bangs away from her face and bit back against a wave of fresh tears. "He's a really good friend," she said, her voice sounding much more defensive than Sakura felt it should, "He's surprisingly easy to talk to. And he's always there for me when I need him."

"Do you…"

"Do I what?"

"Do you love him?"

Ino shrugged her shoulders, but it wasn't quite as indifferent as she might have wanted it to be. "I don't know."

"I had no idea," Sakura said.

"That's because you were always busy thinking about Sasuke," Ino pointed out, but it wasn't accusatory.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"There wasn't anything to tell," Ino said, "At least, not yet anyway."

"Oh, Ino."

Ino shoved her chair away from the table and stood up angrily. "I'm going to get to the bottom of this. If this is Danzo's fault, I swear to God I'll kill him."

"Ino, calm down, don't say things like that," Sakura said, rising to her feet as well.

"After all he's done to Itachi and now Sai," Ino began, "He's a blight on the village. He's disgusting and should be removed from the council."

"Shh, Ino, stop it," Sakura chided, "I agree, but that kind of talk isn't helpful right now. We should focus on finding Sai first. Danzo can wait. He _is_ still on the council and we can't talk openly about this kind of stuff."

Ino's eyes were brimming again, and Sakura felt there should be tears in her own eyes, too. She couldn't bring herself to cry. She couldn't bring herself to feel anything other than numb.

"Tsunade knows about Danzo," Sakura said, "She'll help us figure this out. She told me the council is upset that Itachi had been allowed back into the village. They're going to try to get rid of him, I'm sure of it. We've got a lot on our plate right now, so we need to stay calm and sharp."

Ino sat back down and heaved a sigh.

"You can stay here for the night," Sakura said, "It's going to be okay. Sai is going to be okay. We'll get all of this worked out."

"Okay."


	18. Chapter 18

Being back in Konoha was like coming up for air after being underwater for so long, only to find that the air was stale and stuffy.

For years Itachi had accepted that the citizens of Konoha hated him – as they were well within their rights to do. He didn't necessarily blame them for feeling the way they did, but he had to admit that the glares and the whispers behind his back did get to him.

He had been in Konoha for three days now, but it felt like much longer. Sasuke had been determined to go back to living in the Uchiha compound, and Itachi had followed, not wanting to be too far from him.

It was a nightmare being back in his old home. He saw vivid flashbacks, blood spatter, the soulless eyes of the family he slaughtered there. Sasuke seemed unperturbed by it, but Itachi had trouble sleeping at night.

Luckily, Sasuke was there to dull some of that pain. The brothers had been nearly inseparable since returning to the village. They spent their time catching up with one another, sparring, and just enjoying one another's company. Itachi was glad to finally spend time with Sasuke instead of keeping him at arm's length as he had always done in the past.

Sasuke still had an aloofness in his manner that Itachi found insufferable, but he supposed that he carried a bit of the same standoffishness in his own demeanor. Maybe it was an Uchiha thing – their father seemed to have it, too.

Neither one of them left the compound very often – only to get food. Itachi hadn't seen Yamato or Sachi since his first day in the village, and he had already begun to miss them. He argued with himself that it wasn't his place to see them. They were not his kids and he did not have visitation rights. He should leave them alone and let them be happy with Sakura's parents, but he couldn't help how often he thought of them.

To a lesser extent, he thought of Sakura, too. The day she had brought Yamato and Sachi to the park she had seemed terribly distracted, upset almost. He had wanted to ask her what was wrong, but she kept her distance from him while he was with the children. In fact, she had hardly said two words to him.

That was why it was so surprising when she showed up at his door with a basket in her hand and a hesitant grin on her face.

"Good morning, Itachi-san," she said brightly, though he could see that it didn't reach her eyes, "Is Sasuke-kun around?"

He ushered her inside. "I think he's in the kitchen," he answered, unsure of how to respond to having her in his home. She followed him into the kitchen where they found Sasuke riffling through the refrigerator.

"Sasuke-kun," she greeted, placing her basket on the table, "I brought some things for you." She pulled several containers of homemade food, a jar of what looked like food pills, a couple of wrapped packages and a potted cactus from the basket and arranged them on the table.

Sasuke turned to look at her, raking his eyes over her in a way that Itachi found completely distasteful, and returned to riffling through the refrigerator.

"I thought some of this stuff might help you get acclimated to being in the village again," she said, ignoring the way he ignored her, "I also had some more of your shirts with your clan symbol on the back made. You've grown a lot since you left!"

He grunted in response.

She turned to Itachi and gave him a smile, "I had some made for you, too, Itachi-san. I just guessed your measurements, so hopefully they will fit."

Itachi was touched by the gesture, and annoyed that Sasuke didn't seem to be.

"Thank you, Sakura," Itachi said smiling with extra warmth to make up for his brother's lack of gratitude, "You didn't have to do that."

She began to fidget nervously, and Itachi cocked his head to the side in curiosity.

"Sasuke-kun," she said, "Naruto and I are going to Ichiraku tonight. Do you want to come with us? It's been so long since we've all been…"

"I'm not interested."

She faltered a bit, but seemed to expect that response from him. "Okay, but if you change your mind, we'll be there."

"I won't change my mind."

"Sasuke," Itachi snapped, "Don't be so cold. It's rude."

He shot a glare at his older brother, but said nothing else.

"It's okay," Sakura said, "I should get going."

Itachi walked her to the door, unsure of whether or not he should apologize on his brother's behalf. It was unthinkable that he could be so rude to her after she'd gone out of her way to be nice to him.

The words were nearly out of his mouth when he changed his mind. Whatever happened between Sakura and Sasuke was none of his business.

"Goodbye, Sakura-san. Thank you for the shirts," he said.

"Of course," she said, "And I'll see you tomorrow for your appointment. Don't be late!"

He waved her off and shut the door softly.

"Why are you so mean to her?" Itachi asked when he walked back into the kitchen.

"She's annoying."

"She loves you."

"Yeah, and it's annoying. I didn't ask her to do that," Sasuke answered.

"She wanted to do something nice for you."

Sasuke grunted.

"You know she's the reason I'm here," Itachi pointed out, "She's the one who convinced me to tell you the truth. I was planning on letting you kill me."

Sasuke scoffed.

"I'm serious," Itachi continued, "She cares a lot about you. She wants you to be happy."

"I am happy," he said grumpily, "And I don't need her help."

"You'll have to marry someone if you intend on restoring the clan, you know," Itachi pointed out, "You can't have babies by yourself."

"Are you suggesting I marry Sakura?" Sasuke asked. Itachi didn't _want_ to suggest that, because the idea of Sakura and Sasuke sent a flash of something hot and painful through his chest, something he decided was _not_ jealousy. But if they were both happy, then he couldn't complain.

"Is there another girl who would be willing to put up with you?"

"Please," Sasuke said, "There are probably girls lined up to be the mother of my children."

Itachi smirked and joined Sasuke at the table as he dived into the food Sakura had brought them.

"What about you?" Sasuke asked between mouthfuls, "You're the heir. You have to pick the next Uchiha matriarch."

Itachi plucked a slice of mango from one of the containers and munched it thoughtfully. His thoughts drifted to Izumi and then to the prostitute from the bar. Itachi had never considered taking a wife after leaving Konoha. It had never been a possibility. But Sasuke was right – his wife would be the Uchiha matriarch.

Unbidden, and image of Sakura carrying Sachi on her back came to mind. He couldn't deny an attraction to her, but she was Sasuke's teammate. And she loved Sasuke – she had told him that back in Toyeiki. Sasuke was the one she wanted.

Still, it wasn't hard to imagine her raising his children. They'd receive the best medical care in the world. They might inherit her perfect chakra control. They'd have a tender and loving mother who would do anything for them. With a grimace, Itachi imagined that they might also inherit her pink hair.

"I suppose I'll have to meet some women before I can marry one," Itachi said jokingly.

Sasuke chortled.

.

The next day, Itachi left the compound to go meet Sakura at the hospital for his appointment. He had begun to grow a little stir crazy being cooped up inside the compound, but he wasn't comfortable walking around the village yet.

"Have a seat, please," Sakura said when Itachi entered her in-patient room. She was cordial, but clinical – none of the friendliness he had come to expect from her present in her tone.

He did as he was told and waited in silence while she busied herself with what he presumed was his chart. When she finished, she set his chart down beside his lap and placed her hands in their usual place between his ribs.

After his conversation with Sasuke, Itachi had found it hard to shake Sakura from his thoughts. He was in no hurry to find a wife – he had all the time in the world for that. It could wait until after Danzo had been handled, after Madara had been taken care of.

And Sakura really wasn't the best option for him, anyway. She was Sasuke's teammate, the Godaime's apprentice, and beloved by the Konoha's citizens. A girl like her shouldn't be with a guy like him. She was bright and warm in all the ways that he was swallowed by darkness.

If he had any sense, he would put her as far away from his mind as possible. He had other things he needed to focus on. As soon as Sakura cleared him as medically fit, he could start taking missions again. He should be thinking about that instead.

But she was very close to him now – close enough that he could smell her vanilla scented shampoo and see each individual pink eyelash. Her eyes were closed as she channeled her chakra through him and he took the opportunity to study her face up close. Her skin was smooth and pale, her cheeks slightly flushed – maybe from the heat in the room. Her lips were parted slightly, and occasionally she would catch the tip of her tongue with her teeth before pulling it back into her mouth.

Her brow furrowed in concentration and her breathing was steady. Itachi imagined her standing this close to all her other patients, her hands on their chests, their eyes on her face. It made him uncomfortable all of a sudden.

He looked up at her eyelids, the translucent skin there twitching slightly. Her lashes… He couldn't fathom how lashes could be so long and so pink.

And then her eyes flew open and she stared at him, locking their gazes. She didn't flinch away from him as he expected she might, having been slightly surprised to find him looking at her so intently. He wanted to look away from her, to drag his eyes to literally anything else in the room because it was embarrassing having been caught staring at her.

But he couldn't look away, and he didn't want to. It appeared that Sakura didn't want to either, because she stared back at him with as much intensity.

"You're staring," she whispered, and he could feel her breath on his face.

He wanted to point out that she was staring too, but it somehow seemed inappropriate to do.

"Your lashes are pink," he said instead, because the observation was harmless enough and explained his staring a little bit.

She blinked rapidly, causing them to flutter. He wondered if she did that on purpose. The idea that she might have made his heart seem to stop for a moment.

"My hair is naturally pink," she explained. She didn't need to because he already knew that, but he smiled anyway, happy just to hear her speak. Tentatively, he reached up to catch a lock of said pink hair between his thumb and forefinger, inspecting it as if he didn't believe her. Though it probably was a bad idea, he activated his Sharingan to get a better look at it – to get a better look at _her._

"I see," he said, tucking the strand behind her ear and letting his thumb graze across her cheekbone. It was a mistake – he knew that as soon as their skin touched. It sent a jolt of electricity through him and he pulled his hand away as if he'd been shocked. He should have been too embarrassed to look at her, but with his Sharingan activated he could see her pulse beating wildly in her neck and the flush of red that filled her cheeks. Her breathing had become shallower, and if he had cared to observe himself more closely, he'd have noticed that his had, too.

He couldn't help but be pleased that just a small touch had elicited such a reaction from her. It felt good to know that he affected her the same way she affected him. He chanced a look up into her eyes and saw confusion there.

She stepped away from him, turning to face the cart beside her. Her face was intensely red and clashed horribly with her hair. Itachi couldn't help himself and he grinned, not at her, but just because he felt so happy and so _free_ here with her. He was completely lost in the moment, feeling the rush of what he knew were endorphins.

"Why are you smiling like that?" she snapped.

"Interactions like these," he began, "People take them for granted."

She gained the confidence to look at him again, and fixed him with a curious gaze. With his Sharingan still activated, he didn't miss the way her eyes dipped down to his mouth before snapping back up to his eyes. Again, he felt a pulse in his heart, like it had skipped a beat (which he knew was only a myth). He looked down to her mouth, openly staring at her parted pink lips.

"I'm not sure what you mean," she said, but he had a feeling that she knew exactly what he meant. He longed to pull her back close to him and kiss her, but he knew he couldn't do that.

"It's just nice to be close to someone," he answered, "That's all I meant." It was a lot to have meant, though, and he knew that. Being close to her was as big a deal as it felt. He knew that she had pined after Sasuke. He also knew that Sasuke would never have touched her like that, or wanted to be this close to her.

He imagined that there were probably other men who _did_ want to be this close to her. He couldn't blame them. She probably had millions of opportunities to be with millions of other men.

"If you were Naruto I'd have punched you by now," she said, glaring at him.

He smirked, aware that she had a temper and had likely punched many men who'd touched her like that without permission.

"I'm glad I'm not Naruto, then."

"Doesn't mean I won't punch you if you touch me again."

He laughed loudly, surprised by the threat, "I apologize, Sakura," he said, "I'll keep my hands to myself."

She accepted his apology and took a step closer to him, "Now if you'll let me finish I can get you out of here and back on the mission roster."

She put her hands back on his chest, and he refrained from touching her for the remainder of his appointment.

.

"What are you so happy about?" Sasuke demanded.

Itachi smiled just as he'd been doing all day since his appointment with Sakura. After he left the hospital he had gone to he Hokage tower to speak with Tsunade about taking potential missions soon. She had informed him that as soon as his autoimmune disease had been taken care of that he could go back to active duty, either as an ANBU, or just a jonin, if he chose.

Taking missions again, and getting away from the compound was too good to be true. He was beginning to feel like a Konoha citizen again and he couldn't feel better about it.

He gazed fondly at his little brother and shook his head slightly, "I'm just happy to be here, that's all," he said.

He didn't want to think too much about it, but he knew that his elation was due entirely to his interaction with Sakura earlier, and the thought gave him pause. How could Sasuke find her annoying? How could he not see what a beautiful and talented kunoichi she was?

"Well knock it off," Sasuke said, "It's weird."

"Weird that I'm happy?"

"Yeah."

Itachi huffed, but it was more out of amusement than irritation. "It wouldn't kill you to try to be a little happier, you know," Itachi said.

Sasuke shrugged noncommittally.

"You should go spend some time with your friends," Itachi said, "You're lucky to have friends at all with that attitude."

"I have you," Sasuke said, "What do I need friends for?"

Itachi loved his brother, he really did. But Sasuke was starting to get on his nerves. He had two unbelievably faithful friends who still loved him in spite of the way he'd treated them. Itachi would have given anything to have Shisui back, and here Sasuke was, shunning the people who loved him.

"I'll go with you, then," Itachi offered, "Naruto and Sakura want you to get ramen with them. They're just going to keep asking until you do it. And you might be surprised by how much you enjoy it."

"Fine," Sasuke conceded, "If they ask me again, I'll go. But only if you come, too."

.

True to his word, Sasuke agreed to go to Ichiraku the next time Sakura asked him. He had come home from the training grounds where he'd been sparring with Kakashi and informed Itachi that they would be going that night.

Itachi was pleased that his bother had finally made social plans that didn't include sparring or fighting, so when they arrived at Ichiraku's, Itachi promised himself that he would fade into the background and not intrude too much on Sasuke's time with his friends. After all, agreeing to go at all had only been a ruse to get him to accept the invitation.

But what he hadn't expected was to see Sakura wearing a dress and make-up. She looked oddly out of place sitting in the ramen stand dressed so nicely. Naruto and Sasuke had both opted to wear their standard shinobi clothing, as had Itachi. With a pang of jealousy, Itachi realized that she must have dressed up to impress Sasuke – the man she actually wanted to be with.

"Sasuke!" Naruto bellowed when he caught sight of them, "You brought your brother."

"Is that a problem?" Sasuke droned.

"Of course not," Naruto said, grinning and patting the seat the next to him, "Hey, Itachi, how's it going?"

Itachi smiled in response, a genuine one, he was surprised to find. For whatever reason, Itachi found Naruto's enthusiasm to be infectious. Sasuke took the seat on Naruto's left, leaving only one open – the one on Sakura's right.

It was a bad idea. He was only there to support his little brother. He couldn't do that if he was flirting with his teammate – not that he was experienced in the art of flirting enough to be good at it. But she looked so nice in that dress. The dress she was wearing for Sasuke, he reminded himself.

But it was too late now. He couldn't leave. He glanced over at Sasuke, who was actually paying attention to whatever Naruto was saying to him. In fact, it almost looked like he was enjoying himself.

He took the seat next to Sakura and gave her a half smile. She was probably still upset with him for touching her. He hoped she would be. Maybe it would be easier to be near her if she gave him the cold shoulder.

"Good evening, Itachi-san," she said with an infectious smile of her own. So much for that idea.

"Sakura-san," Itachi said, keeping his tone as neutral as possible, "You look nice."

"Oh," she said as if she just remembered that she _did_ look nice. The thought made Itachi grin a little wider, "Ino and I had this whole thing planned. We were going to go dancing, but then Sasuke actually agreed to come tonight, so I bailed on her. She understood, of course. This is the first time he's agreed to come."

He hummed in response, resting his forearms on the counter. So she _hadn't_ dressed up for Sasuke's sake.

"Dancing," he said, testing the word out. He definitely would like to see Sakura dance. Kunoichi were notoriously graceful – he was sure Sakura was no exception.

"Yeah, it's kind of silly, but it's a good way to relieve stress," Sakura said, "And men just love to watch Ino dance. She loves the attention, which is good because she's upset that Sai is missing."

He hummed again and let his eyes wander down to her mouth. It was increasingly hard to keep his eyes away from parts of her that were sinfully displayed in that dress – parts of her that he should not be looking at. Izumi had been too young to have those curves, and Itachi had been too young to be thinking about them. He wondered now what she might have looked like all grown up.

He let his eyes wander, not bothering to hide his roving glances because she was sure to notice them anyway. When he found himself looking into her eyes again, he was amused to see her looking flushed and angry.

He tried unsuccessfully to hide a grin. It probably looked more like a smirk, which only seemed to make her more angry.

If he'd had his Sharingan activated, he would have seen the slap coming. He was far too distracted by other parts of her to notice her hand. But when the palm of her hand meet his cheek it felt nothing like the way he'd touched her at the hospital. It stung.

Naruto and Sasuke abruptly stopped talking, both of them gaping at Sakura. The silence was thick and tense, but Itachi wasn't angry. She hadn't hurt him. He didn't even feel humiliated like he should have. He felt mirth bubble up in his chest until laughter spilled out of him. She had slapped him!

It was something she would have done to Naruto if he had been looking at her that way. It was like they were friends.

"Pervert," she muttered.

"You can hardly blame me for noticing how nice you look, Sakura-san," he said, giving her an amused grin.

"Well you don't have to stare at me like that!"

"I'm sorry, Sakura-san," Itachi said, "It won't happen again."

"Sakura…" Naruto muttered. Itachi glanced over Sakura' shoulder to see him staring at her in disbelief.

"See?" Sasuke said, "I told you she was annoying."

Itachi saw Sakura ball her hands in fists, her jaw tightening as she clenched her teeth. He felt guilty for inducing her anger like that and causing Sasuke to say such a thing in front of her.

"She isn't annoying," Itachi defended, "I was being rude. It was my fault."

"It was your fault that she slapped you?" Sasuke demanded.

"Guys, let's talk about something else," Naruto said, the nervousness apparent in his voice.

"No, she's always doing shit like this," Sasuke continued, "How many times has she punched you, Naruto? She's got too much of a temper. She shouldn't be taking it out on my brother. Itachi did nothing wrong."

Itachi resisted the urge to face palm. This had not been how he wanted this social excursion to go.

"It's fine, Sasuke—"

"No, he's right, Itachi-san," Sakura interrupted, "I shouldn't have slapped you. I'm sorry. You didn't deserve that."

He snapped his gaze to her and saw that her eyes were glassy – she looked like she was about to cry. He agreed that he didn't deserve it, but he didn't want her to apologize – not for something so silly and small. In spite of the rudeness of the gesture, it made him feel like her friend, like he was an actually part of the village again instead of an outsider.

He reached out to grab her hand from the counter, but thought better of it. He shouldn't do that in front of his brother and Naruto. He settled instead for a pleading look – one he hoped she would recognize as consoling.

"You don't have to apologize to me, Sakura," Itachi said.

"I get it, Sasuke," Sakura said, fully ignoring Itachi, "You think I'm annoying and loud. You think I'm useless – you always have. But I'm not the girl you knocked out and left on a bench four years ago."

He scoffed, unmoved by her speech.

"I tried to be your friend because I thought you needed one," she continued, ignoring the way he ignored her, "But the only two people you ever cared about are Naruto and Itachi, so I'm not going to _annoy_ you anymore by trying."

She stood up, slamming some money on the counter for food that she had hardly touched, and stormed away. The three men left in the stand watched her receding form.

"Sasuke, you ruin everything," Naruto grumbled, "We could have had a nice night out as a team."

"It will be better now that she's gone."

Itachi disagreed, but he didn't say anything.

"I'll go check on her," Naruto said, starting to stand up. Itachi stopped him with a firm hand on his shoulder.

"No," Itachi said. If Naruto left, Sasuke and Itachi would be alone again. It would be no different than being back at the compound. The whole point of coming out tonight was so Sasuke could spend time with his friends. "I'll go. You stay here with Sasuke."

Naruto gave him a skeptical look, but returned to his seat. Maybe Sasuke would be in a better mood now that Sakura was gone. It wasn't too late for him to enjoy some time with Naruto.

Itachi found Sakura leaning over the railing of a bridge, staring at her reflection in the stream below.

"Sakura," he said as he approached. She glanced at him from the corner of her eye before looking back down at the water. He came to stand next to her, resting his arms on the railing next to hers, letting their arms touch.

She didn't pull away from him, which he found to be an encouraging sign. They were silent for a while, listening to the distant chatter from the streets and the occasional chirping of a bird or buzzing of an insect.

"I'm sorry I slapped you."

"I'm sorry for staring at you."

She almost laughed, making a sound that was more like a sigh. "You're a real piece of work, you know that, Itachi-san?"

He said nothing, waiting for her to continue. He looked at her hands hanging over the railing – pretty and delicate, no scars or callouses. A benefit of being a medic-nin, he assumed.

"Your behavior is so bizarre. I just don't know what to think of you," she said, "Back at the hospital, you touched my hair, my face. And tonight you were staring at me like a pervert. Am I missing something?"

"I think you're pretty," he answered honestly. The admission made his skin feel tingly. He knew he probably shouldn't have said that to her. But if she wanted to know the truth then he wouldn't hide that from her. She was pretty, and she should know it.

Her skin flushed and she refused to meet his eye.

"Do you slap everyone who thinks you're pretty?" he joked.

"No," she said, "Naruto is the only person I've done that to. He knew I was interested in someone else, so he was aware the advances were unwanted."

"My brother, you mean," Itachi clarified.

She nodded, causing her hair to dislodge from behind her ear and create a curtain between them. Her face was hidden from view, but Itachi could see from her reflection in the water that she was blushing.

"I can't imagine why he finds you annoying," Itachi said, "You are a lot of things, but annoying is not one of them."

"You didn't know me when I was younger," she said, "I pined after him relentlessly. I can understand why he thought I was annoying then. I just wish he could see that I've changed."

Itachi felt jealousy burning hotly in his chest. The unfairness of all of it struck him hard. She loved his brother, who wanted nothing to do with her, while he wanted nothing more than to kiss her and earned a slap from her instead.

"I don't want to be with him," she said, tucking her hair back behind her ear. He looked closely at her face, observing the hard set of her features. "He's mean. He obviously doesn't want me. I could never be with someone who didn't want me. But he's still my teammate, and I thought he was my friend."

"He's lucky to have a friend like you, Sakura," Itachi said, "Even if he doesn't realize it right now."

She didn't look like she believed him. "I'm sorry for unloading all this on you," she said, "And for ruining your evening."

"You didn't ruin my evening," he said smiling against the uncertainty he felt, "In fact, compared to all the nights I've been here so far, this one if by far the most entertaining."

She smiled down at the water, and Itachi swore that he felt her arm press a little more firmly into his. And then she titled her head toward him and rested it on his shoulder. He could smell the vanilla on her again, and his heart was thumping so loudly he was sure she could hear it.

He could see in her reflection in the water that she was still smiling. He rested his cheek on the crown of her head and smiled, too. He enjoyed the comfortable silence, feeling more at home than he'd ever felt before – even before the massacre.

"You really think I'm pretty?" she asked.

He only smiled in response.


	19. Chapter 19

After the incident at Ichiraku, Sakura had given both Sasuke and Itachi a wide berth. She had embarrassed herself enough by slapping Itachi and going off on Sasuke, but then the moment on the bridge afterwards left her feeling more unsettled than she wanted to admit.

Her world would make a lot more sense if Itachi acted more like Sasuke and vice versa.

But that was not the case, and until she sorted out the weird _feelings_ she was having, she decided it was best just to avoid them completely.

Of course, Sakura still had to treat Itachi's condition once a week. Though she was not cold with him, Sakura remained as clinical and professional as possible with her treatments, and Itachi, seeming to sense her hesitancy and confusion over the situation, made it easy on her by refraining from touching her or calling her pretty again.

Weeks went by, Sakura keeping herself busy with her work at the hospital and then with Yamato and Sachi in the evenings. Occasionally, at Itachi's request, Sakura would take them to the park where they could spend some more time with their favorite 'Uncle' Itachi.

If anyone noticed that Sakura and Itachi seemed to be around each other a lot, no one mentioned it. The only person who would likely have noticed such a thing would have been Sasuke, the only other person Itachi seemed inclined to spend any time with.

Sakura thought it was sweet that the two brothers spent so much time together and seemed to be getting along, but she could see that Sasuke in particular was growing restless.

The need for revenge had been burned so deeply into his psyche that Sakura was sure that he was gearing up for his future attack on Danzo.

Honestly, Sakura was all for it. Kakashi and Yamato had spent weeks searching for Sai and had come up empty-handed.

That is, until Sakura was called from her shift to report immediately to the Hokage's office. Sakura was nervous, of course. Tsunade wouldn't have interrupted her shift unless it had been something very important.

When she arrived at her mentor's office, she found herself standing huddled together with Naruto, Sasuke, Kakashi, and Yamato.

"There is no easy way to say this," Tsunade began. Sakura's heart sank. "Sai's body has been recovered. He was found dead by a team of ANBU in the woods just outside the village. He was hidden with a genjutsu."

Sakura's vision swam and she leaned her body against Naruto's for support. He held onto her arm tightly, but she could feel that he was also trembling.

"Cause of death?" Kakashi asked.

"Looks like induced coma," Tsunade said, a note of warning in her voice, though Sakura didn't understand what it was for.

Induced coma? How could someone have induced a coma without access to the drugs at the hospital? There was no way anyone would have been able to sneak any out of the pharmacy. She would have to check to logs to make sure, but she was certain that there weren't any missing.

"By what means?" Sakura asked, her voice cracking.

"The autopsy report shows a genjutsu that put his mind to sleep," Tsunade explained.

"The only genjutsu I've heard of that's capable of doing such a thing is produced by the Sharingan," Kakashi speculated. Five pairs of eyes locked onto Sasuke.

"I didn't do it," Sasuke defended.

"I know you didn't do it," Tsunade said.

Sakura swallowed hard, thinking of the only other Sharingan user she knew of. Itachi wouldn't have done something like this… Would he? He was capable of gruesome things, certainly, but he hadn't been the one to do _this_ one. She was sure he wouldn't have done it.

And hadn't he warned Yamato and Sachi about another Sharingan user when they had been in Toyeiki? Was he talking about whoever had been responsible for this?

"I believe Danzo is responsible for this," Tsunade said, "I need proof of it in order to condemn him for the crime and have him removed from the council. That's where you guys come in."

Sakura's brow furrowed. How could Danzo be responsible?

"I'm assigning this mission to Team 7. Find me proof that Danzo did this," Tsunade continued, "Or find me proof that someone else did."

Sakura closed her eyes and pictured Ino. She would be crushed. She couldn't believe it – Sai was gone. It didn't seem fair. Just when she'd gotten one teammate back she lost another. Hot tears burned at the back of her eyes, but she took a deep breath and held them back.

"You're all dismissed."

Sakura didn't wait for anything else – she ran. She was gone before anyone could stop her, running, running.

She let her feet take her where they would. She didn't think, she ran. She wanted to find Ino, to seek comfort from her best friend, but she couldn't talk to Ino until she calmed down. She couldn't tell her the truth while she was so wrecked.

Instead, she found herself at the Uchiha compound, banging frantically on the door. She couldn't see straight through the tears that had streamed down her face, her neck, and into her shirt. Between knocks, she wiped furiously at her eyes. She was sure she looked like a red, wet mess.

She didn't care, though, because she knew that Itachi had answers. He knew the person with the Sharingan. He knew who had done this to Sai. And this time she wouldn't let him get away with keeping it a secret from her.

But when he swung the door open and looked down at her, his eyes were too concerned. "Sakura…" he said, his voice low. She didn't miss the worry in his tone. He _should_ be worried, she thought. He reached out for her, placing a hand on her shoulder and pulling her toward him.

She let go – lost the will to resist him, to demand answers from him. She let him pull her against him. Her forehead collided with his collarbone. Her arms were crushed between his body and hers, so she fisted her hands in the fabric of his shirt. His hand came down on the top of her hand, holding her against him. The other found its way to her back and rubbed soothing circles there.

"What happened?" he whispered.

She couldn't answer right away because she was sobbing too hard, not caring that she sounded like a wailing child, not caring that her tears were soaking into his shirt (a shirt that she distantly noticed was one of the ones she had bought for him). He rested his chin on her head and let her cry. She didn't know how long she stayed there, taking comfort from him like he existed just to give it to her.

"What's wrong?" he tried again, forcibly pushing her shoulders back so that he could see her face.

She wrenched her body away from his and stabbed an accusing finger into his chest. "You told me in Toyeiki that there was another Sharingan user," she said, her voice trembling and angry, "Who was it? Tell me who you were talking about."

"Sakura, calm down first," he said, taking hold of her finger and curling back into her hand, "Tell me what happened."

"Sai is dead!" she exclaimed, yanking her hand away from his, "And whoever is at fault used Sharingan to do it."

Gently, he took her hand in his and led her through the door. She followed him into the kitchen, her chest still heaving and anger still burning in her chest. She was borderline hysterical, but she couldn't seem to calm down.

"Sit," he commanded, pointing to the kitchen table. She did as she was told and then collapsed herself on the table, burying her face in her arms. She stayed there, entrenched in her darkness, sobbing again into the table. Sai was gone. Sai was dead. And it was her fault.

"Drink this," Itachi said. Sakura pulled her head up and felt him press a warm mug into her hands. She took a sip – peppermint tea.

"I'm sorry about your friend," he said when it appeared that she was finished crying. She gave him an incredulous look, baffled that had both the gall to say that to her and the patience to deal with her. But she realized that he was serious. He knew what she was going through.

And it wasn't like she hadn't been prepared for a loss like this. She was a shinobi. Her friends were all shinobi. Sooner or later, they all would die. And shinobi always tended to die sooner rather than later.

She took another sip of her tea. He sat down across from her.

"Before the massacre," Itachi began, and immediately he had Sakura's full attention, "My cousin, Shisui, and I were aware that our clan was planning the coup. We were going to try to stop it. He had an ability he could use with his Mangekyou – Kotoamatsukami. He was planning to use it to convince our clan not to go through with the coup. But before he could do it, Danzo intercepted him. Danzo didn't want him to try to use his genjutsu. He didn't think it was a permanent solution."

Sakura inched closer to Itachi, listening intently. She had read the mission file and she knew the general idea of what had happened, but the details were lost. Itachi was the only one who knew them. And Danzo, too, she thought.

"He tried to kill Shisui. He took his right eye and would have taken the left had I not come back to save him," Itachi explained.

"You were talking about Danzo…" Sakura said in disbelief. "Danzo has a Sharingan. That's why he keeps his eye covered…"

Itachi nodded.

"We need to tell Tsunade," Sakura said, "She assigned a mission to Team 7. We're supposed to find proof that Danzo killed Sai. This is the proof we need."

Sakura stood up, knocking her chair over in the process.

"Hold on, Sakura," Itachi said, wrapping his fingers around her wrist, "That isn't enough proof. Danzo will never admit to having a Sharingan. He will pin the blame for Sai's death on either me or Sasuke."

"But—"

"The village would easily accept that I did this, Sakura," Itachi said, "They don't trust me. They would believe I did this, even if Tsunade doesn't."

Itachi stood up, too, and released Sakura's arm. She crossed her arms across her chest and shivered, though she didn't feel cold. It was too much information to process.

"Sakura, if Danzo killed Sai it was because he was snooping around for information," Itachi said, "He's the one who found my mission file, right?"

Sakura nodded, and blinked away the fresh wave of tears that brimmed in her eyes. _This is my fault._

"He won't hesitate to kill you, either," Itachi said. Her heart squeezed painfully in her chest. "Or anyone else on Team 7."

"We have to stop him."

"Sakura, please," Itachi begged, and Sakura was surprised by the pleading tone in his voice, "Please do not go after him. I know what your orders are, but please let me take care of this. I will handle it."

"But—"

"I don't want you to get hurt."

She sighed deeply and pursed her lips together. She felt for him, she really did. He had lost his family – killed them with his own hands, in fact. She couldn't imagine how painful it must have been. And now he was afraid of losing her, too, and it broke her heart that he felt that way.

But he had accepted the mission knowing what he would have to do in order to protect the village and to protect Sasuke. Now she was facing a decision, too, albeit a much less terrifying one.

"I'm not going to defy my orders."

"At least let me help you."

She couldn't say no to that. "Okay."

"Let's go find Sasuke."

.

But they didn't have to look too far for him. Just as they'd set out to leave, the rest of Team 7 showed up at the Uchihas' doorstep.

What the hell, Sakura," Naruto demanded, pushing his way into the house, "You just ran away!"

"I'm sorry, Naruto—"

"I know you're upset, but that's what we're here for," Naruto continued, cutting her off, "He was our teammate, too. Didn't it occur to you that _I'm_ also sad? I mean, come on, that's just inconsiderate."

"That's not why I ran away, Naruto," Sakura said impatiently. Of course she realized that Naruto was sad, too. She knew how precious Naruto's friends were to him. "I came to find Itachi because I knew he had critical information."

It was mostly the truth.

"You should have waited for us," Kakashi said, but he didn't seem upset.

"What information?" Sasuke asked.

"Danzo has a Sharingan," Sakura answered.

Everyone turned to look at Itachi.

"He stole it from Shisui just before he killed himself."

Silence descended in the room. Sakura was surprised to see Sasuke's eyes slightly glazed over. His fists were clenched tightly at his sides.

"So what are we going to do?" Sakura asked.

"Diplomacy will not work this time," Itachi said, "The Sandaime and Danzo were friends, in spite of their difference of opinion when it came to protecting Konoha, but Danzo doesn't trust Tsunade-sama, especially after choosing to allow me back into the village. There will be no peaceful negotiations."

"So you're saying that we will have to fight him?" Yamato asked.

"I'm saying that it doesn't matter if we find proof or not," Itachi argued, "Danzo thinks he knows how to keep Konoha protected. His methods are… cruel. Tsunade wants to remove him from the council, but that will not be enough. He will still try to control things from the shadows. He has the means to do so."

"That's true," Yamato agreed.

"So we have to kill him," Sasuke said.

"Our orders are to find proof of his crimes," Kakashi said, "Nothing more. Killing him is treason."

"If he attacks first, it's self-defense," Sakura argued.

"We can try to reason with him for appearances' sake," Itachi said, "But we will have to be prepared to fight him. He is not going to see things our way."

Silence fell again. Sakura could hear her heartbeat thudding in her ears. This would be the second time she hid something from Tsunade. It didn't sit well with her, but just like the first time, Sakura had no choice.

"So what's the plan?" Naruto asked.

"There's a council meeting two days from now," Sakura answered, "We should confront him after the meeting."

"We'll need to intercept him before he goes back down to ROOT's base," Itachi said, "We can't fight too many ROOT members at once."

"We can ambush him once he's outside the gates," Yamato suggested, "We can split into Team Ro and Team 7. One team can follow him after the meeting in case he catches on and tries to escape and the other can be waiting to ambush him."

"Team Ro?" Naruto asked.

"Me, Kakashi, and Itachi," Yamato answered.

"Tenzo," Itachi said, "You and I can tail him. Team Kakashi can be waiting to ambush him. Sakura can wait farther outside the gates to keep watch for ROOT members coming to back him up and to provide medical support where necessary."

Sakura pursed her lips in annoyance, but she didn't argue. It was a sound plan that played to all of their strengths.

"Tenzo?" Naruto asked.

"Yamato is a code name," he answered, "Tenzo is my real name."

"So we should call you Tenzo now?" Naruto asked, "That sounds weird."

"Call me whatever you like, Naruto," Yamato said. Sakura didn't think she could get used to calling him a different name now, but she wasn't thinking too hard about it. Instead, her eyes drifted to Sasuke who was staring at his brother with confusion.

"You three were on a team together?" he asked Itachi.

"Yes," Itachi answered, but he offered no more information.

"Alright," Kakashi said, his tone firmly ending the conversation, "We will reconvene two days from now. We'll meet back here when the meeting starts."

.

Later that night when Sakura arrived home, she wasn't surprised to find Ino sitting at her kitchen table. She was pouting and had poured herself a glass of wine.

"Forehead," she greeted.

"Pig."

"I came by the hospital to see you today," she said, swirling the wine around in the glass, "One of the nurses said you'd been called to the Hokage's office."

Sakura felt hot tears building up in the corners of her eyes. She was dreading having this conversation, but if she was in Ino's position she would want to know the truth. It couldn't be easy on her not knowing what happened to Sai. Sakura had felt the same way when Sasuke's was the one missing.

Except Sasuke wasn't dead.

"Sakura," Ino said, standing up and grabbing her by the shoulders, "Why are you crying? What happened?"

Sakura shook her head and steeled herself against the tears. She couldn't tell Ino the truth while she was crying. Ino began to cry, too, putting two and two together.

"He's dead, isn't he?"

Sakura nodded. Ino let out a garbled cry and fisted her hands in the sleeves of Sakura's shirt. The blonde collapsed into Sakura, letting the weight of her body fall into her chest. Sakura held onto her with a shaky grip and eased them down to the floor.

They clung to one another, both sobbing, both blaming themselves for the turn of events. Sakura wanted to choke out an explanation, an apology, anything – but the words wouldn't come out. The only sound she could make was the hysterical weeping that she couldn't seem to get under control.

It could have been hours or it could have been merely minutes that they stayed that way, crying and leaning into one another. No words were spoken. There were none that could be said.

Eventually, Sakura pulled Ino up to her feet and led her to her bedroom. She tucked Ino into her bed and the blonde allowed it, unable to resist much. Sakura didn't want to be there anymore. She didn't want to see Ino in her bed, already half asleep. She didn't want to think about whatever had been happening between her and Sai. She didn't want to think that it was cut short by their selfish actions.

Leaving Ino alone in her apartment, Sakura fled for the second time that day. This time, she knew exactly who she wanted to see.

Her feet carried her straight to Naruto's apartment. She knocked softly at the door, all of the frantic worry from before gone. She waited – it felt like it was taking too long. Surely Naruto could sense that it was her. Surely he'd understand that she needed him right now, that they needed each other.

When he finally opened the door, Sakura pushed herself inside, barely sparing a glance into his face.

"Sakura," he said. He sounded surprised to see her, which surprised her. Why shouldn't she seek comfort from him now? They had both just discovered that their teammate was dead.

But then she saw him. Sasuke. He was sitting in Naruto's living room, looking wholly uninterested in everything. She glanced back at Naruto and for the first time saw that he had been crying. His eyes were puffy and red. His cheeks were glistening with shed tears.

"Naruto," Sakura mumbled, pulling him into a hug, "Are you okay?"

"Where have you been, Sakura?" Naruto demanded harshly, though his arms were around her in a comforting kind of way, "I needed you."

"Ino needed me, too, Naruto," Sakura said into his chest. She held onto him more tightly than she ever had before.

"Why the hell would Ino need you more than me?" Naruto demanded, "Sai was _my_ teammate. Our teammate."

"They were… They were together, I think," she answered, "I'm not sure. But I'm pretty sure that it's our fault that he's dead."

With the statement uttered from her mouth, Sakura felt tears come back. She didn't feel like she had any left in her. She couldn't even feel the dampness in her eyes anymore. She choked out a sob, and wiped at her eyes with the back of her hands but found her face to be dry.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked, "How is it your fault?"

"I have to tell you something…"

He grabbed her arm and led her through the entryway and into the living room where Sasuke was still sitting, albeit slightly more interested than he'd been before. Sakura took a seat on the couch next to him and pulled Naruto along with her.

"On my mission in Toyeiki—"

"The one where you fixed that disease?"

"Yeah," she said, "I met Itachi there."

"What?" she heard Sasuke snap. Her back was slightly turned to him and she didn't bother turning to face him.

"He was sick and I healed him," she said.

"What? Why? You couldn't possibly have known he was a good guy back then." Naruto said.

"I needed his help," she answered, "His illness was a special case and I needed to study him in order to find a cure. I knew it was dangerous, but I was desperate. I offered him a deal. I healed him in exchange for letting me study him to find a cure. He would have died otherwise."

"So you saved his life?" Naruto asked.

"I suppose so."

"I'm having a hard time understanding this," Naruto said, "You thought he was a murderer. He made Sasuke's life a living hell and you love Sasuke. Why wouldn't you have sent word to Konoha that he was in Toyeiki? We would have come to help you."

"Because he…"

Sakura trailed off and began to fidget nervously. Naruto was easy enough to talk to, even if he was confused and asked a lot of questions. But it was weird talking about Itachi in front of Sasuke. For all her adoration of the younger Uchiha during her childhood, Sasuke had never been easy to be around.

"Because he what?" Sasuke demanded.

Sakura turned to face him this time. His face was unreadable – as always.

"He was nice to me," she said, "I was openly hostile toward him. I hated him. And he was still always kind. Especially with Yamato and Sachi. He was unbelievably tender with them. It was difficult to reconcile his behavior in Toyeiki with what I knew about him. That's why when I got back here, I had Sai do some research on him for me."

"Oh," Naruto said.

"That's how he knew you," Sasuke said, "The day he told me the truth. He told me he was going to let me kill him, but you stopped him."

"After I found out the truth…"

"Sakura," Sasuke said, "You healed him when he was sick. And you stopped me from killing him. You saved his life twice."

"I couldn't let him die," she replied, "Not the first time because I couldn't let you lose your chance for revenge. And not the second time because I couldn't let you lose him after all he'd done for you. And he didn't deserve to die, even if it _was_ what he wanted."

"Thank you."

It was the second time he had ever thanked her. The first time it had made her feel happy in spite of the direness of the situation. He had finally acknowledged her in some way and she had been over the moon about it.

This time it just left her feeling empty. She always longed to have Sasuke treat her with the same respect that he gave Naruto. She never expected that it would feel so hollow.

And the worst part was that she could tell he was being genuine.

"Sakura," Naruto said, "I know you want to blame yourself for Sai's death, but it wasn't your fault. It was Danzo's fault."

"We will avenge him," Sasuke said, "We'll avenge Sai and we'll avenge my brother. Danzo will not get away with what he put Itachi through – what he did to my clan."

She began to cry again. She leaned into Naruto who held her against his shoulder. They understood one another through those touches. They shared the pain of losing Sai together until it was manageable.

She was surprised when she felt Sasuke place a comforting hand on her shoulder, too. The gesture felt strange coming from him, but Sakura found it comforting anyway.

It was the push she needed to get herself moving in the right direction. Sai was gone and there was nothing that could change that. She would help take out Danzo. She would comfort Ino as best she could. And then things could go back to normal.


	20. Chapter 20

Itachi woke the morning of the council meeting with a nervous lump in his stomach. Before, when he had still been a missing-nin, fighting Danzo wouldn't have been a big deal. He could have taken him down, and if not he could have fled. Danzo was no spring chicken, though Itachi knew that he was likely more powerful than most people gave him credit for.

But he wasn't a missing-nin anymore and this time he would have other people fighting alongside him – not as temporary partners, but as comrades. He would have Sasuke. He would have his former ANBU teammates – people he had once considered friends.

And he had a couple of new friends, too. The thought terrified him. He had already lost everyone once. The thought of losing anyone else today…

But he couldn't think like that now. Not today. This was all for Konoha's sake, for his brother's sake. If the threat Danzo posed was not eliminated, he would never trust in the safety of the village.

Sasuke was nowhere to be found – at least not in the Uchiha compound. Itachi was grateful for that because he didn't want his brother to see him so anxious. For years he had kept on a carefully constructed mask, a persona that hid his true self from the rest of Konoha. But now that the mask had slipped, he found it increasingly difficult to hide his feelings.

Their rendezvous point was the Uchiha compound so he could only sit around and wait. He spent a few hours cleaning the house, and a little bit of time outside training, but his nerves were getting the better of him and he found himself too distracted to do very much.

He had resigned himself to lazing around, too unfocused to spend time being productive, when he heard a knock at the door. The council meeting didn't start for another hour at least, so he wasn't sure who it could be.

He wasn't surprised to find Sakura at the door, her pink hair tied up messily on top of her head. She looked horrible. Her eyes were puffy and her clothes looked rumpled like she had slept in them.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

She raked her eyes over him. "I should ask you the same question," she said.

He narrowed his eyes slightly. "I apologize for not being presentable," he said, "I wasn't expecting company so soon."

"I'm sorry," she said, "I shouldn't have come by without asking. It's just that Ino is at my apartment and I can't bear to see her right now. I slept at Naruto's place last night. Sasuke was there and I felt like I was intruding so I left."

He opened his door wider so she could enter. She brushed past him as she entered. He was glad she had come by, if he was honest with himself. He was glad that she found herself with him when she didn't know where else to go. It made a strange pride swell in his chest.

"Are you nervous?" he asked.

She met his gaze and then quickly looked away. Her shyness was strange to him, but she nodded an affirmative.

"Me too," he said.

"I'm afraid that if we fail that something really bad will happen to Konoha," she said, "And I don't like hiding things from Tsunade. She's already mad enough at me for hiding the fact that I worked with you."

That was news to him.

"You didn't tell her when you got back?" he asked, "Why not?"

"I didn't want her to send anyone after you."

"I'd have been long gone by the time they got to Toyeiki."

"You weren't _long_ gone," she retorted, "I know you stayed to hear what Kabuto wanted with me."

He cocked his head to the side. He had had his chakra masked carefully. He was good at hiding himself. Stealth was his forte.

"How did you know?"

She crossed her arms and huffed. "People always underestimate me. I'm not an idiot. I know I'm not the best member on Team 7. In fact I know I'm the _worst_ member of Team 7. But that doesn't mean I'm stupid."

"Sakura," he said, his voice sounding much harsher than he had intended. "I know you aren't stupid. I asked how you knew."

"I saw you on the roof," she snapped, "When Kabuto mentioned Sasuke I saw you. I also know you followed him after he left."

He sighed. He hadn't known that she had seen him. It didn't really matter, he supposed, but he was annoyed with himself for allowing her to see him and for the fact that she knew he had lied to her.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"I wasn't upset," she said, "I mean, you told me you wanted to stay and I basically forced you to leave. If I had known the truth back then I would have wanted you to stay. I kind of wanted you to stay anyway. I just…"

"I understand," he said.

"Did you kill Kabuto?"

The question surprised him. It was a valid question, he supposed, but Itachi didn't like to kill. He figured Sakura would have known that.

"No."

They stared awkwardly at one another for a moment.

"I followed him because I thought he might have information about Sasuke," he said, breaking the silence. "I was worried he might try to contact you again, but I didn't kill him."

"Why would it worry you if he contacted me again?" she asked, "Sasuke spent a lot of time with him. He never hurt Sasuke."

"He wasn't interested in Sasuke."

Sakura looked down at her feet. She looked uncertain, like she didn't quite know what to say.

"I never doubted that you would reject his offer," Itachi continued, "But I wondered what it might have been like for you to have gone with him. He probably _did_ have a lot to teach you."

"I thought about that, too," she admitted, and for whatever reason a blush rose in her cheeks, "I mean, I would never betray Konoha, but I wondered what he could teach me. Sasuke seemed to have learned a lot from Orochimaru. And Naruto learned how to used the kyuubi. Medical ninjutsu is all I really have and Tsunade-sama – she's a fantastic teacher, but offensive medical jutsu isn't really something she uses."

"Do you want to learn offensive medical ninjutsu?"

"Yes," she said, "If it would put me on the same level as Naruto and Sasuke."

"I'm sure you will find a way, then," he said and he meant it.

"You have a lot of faith in me," she replied

"I saw what you're capable of," he answered, "You indicated that you feel useless, less important than your teammates. But you play a crucial role to them. I'm sure you've saved their lives many times. You've saved mine at least twice."

Her blush deepened and she looked down at her feet. It was strange to him that she wouldn't be able to see her own worth. Her lack of confidence was completely unfounded – he had seen firsthand that she was capable of performing miracles. He wondered briefly if it had something to do with his brother.

"Come sit down," he said, "I'll make you some tea."

She followed him into the kitchen and took the same seat at the table that she'd sat in before. She picked at her fingernails while he prepared her a mug of tea.

"Why did you come here?" he asked.

"I don't know," she said, sounding nervous, "I can leave if you want me to."

"No, no," he said, "I don't want you to leave. I was just curious."

He set a steaming mug in front of her and took the seat next to her. She gave him a small but grateful smile and her sheer proximity made his heart jump in his chest.

"I didn't know where else to go," she said after taking a sip of her tea, "I feel calmer when I'm around you, and I'm just so anxious right now. Is that weird?"

He _did_ think it was weird. He certainly didn't feel calmer when he was around her. If anything, he felt the opposite. Not in an unpleasant way, though, because her company was far from unpleasant.

"Even back in Toyeiki when I hated you, I just felt better when you were around. Safer. I wasn't so worried about potential enemies," she admitted.

"But you refused my help with Kabuto."

"On principal," she said dismissively.

"It _is_ weird," he answered, "You trusted me to protect you when I gave you no indication that I would do that."

"I guess it was instinct, then. Because you _did_ protect me – Konoha, I mean," she answered.

She took another sip of her tea and leaned in a little closer to him. His breath became a bit more shallow. He hoped that she wouldn't notice, but she turned to look at him, her eyes connecting with his far closer than they'd been before. He was captivated again by her pink lashes and how long they were and how prettily they framed her green eyes.

Without meaning to, he let his gaze drift down to her mouth. Her lips were pressed together in a thin line until she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. He wondered if her lips would taste like her tea. She inhaled sharply, parting her lips. He looked back up at her eyes and found her watching him curiously through half-lidded eyes.

"Are you going to kiss me?" she asked.

He swallowed. "What?"

"You look like you want to kiss me," she said. Her tone was teasing and flirtatious, but her eyes were serious.

He didn't know how to answer that, because he definitely did want to kiss her, but he wasn't going to. Not now. Maybe not ever. It didn't seem like a good idea.

But she was still leaning toward him, watching him with unwavering certainty like she knew that he wanted to. Like she wanted him to.

"Do you want me to kiss you?" he asked, pleasantly surprised that his voice was unstrained and perfectly casual.

"I have patients at the hospital all the time that are very vocal about their attractions toward me," she said. It sounded like she was saying no. Itachi felt his heart sink a little. Not that he would have kissed her if she said yes… Or maybe he would have. He couldn't know for sure. "Sometimes they try to steal a kiss."

She looked down into her mug, fluttering her lashes as she did so. He narrowed his eyes slightly. She seemed to be aware that he had a penchant for her lashes.

"I obviously spurn their advances," she said, "Because it's not professional. And most of the time I don't even know them."

She took a sip of her tea and then looked back up at him.

"There has only been one time I ever considered kissing a patient."

He raised an eyebrow, not trusting himself to speak.

"It was you," she said. "The day you touched my face."

He took in a deep breath and held it. He had wanted to kiss her, too, and he'd felt bolder back then than he felt now. There were a million reasons why he shouldn't kiss her. And even if there weren't, he couldn't think of a less appropriate time to kiss someone. Not before they murdered a member of the village council. Not when his brother and the rest of her teammates were due to show up at any moment.

But his hand reached up again to touch her face. He let the tips of his fingers skim her cheek. He brushed the pad of his thumb across her lips. He was enraptured when her eyes slid shut and he could hear her breath catch in her throat.

She reached up and grasped his hand, pulling it down away from her face and into her lap. She held it there, her fingers curled tightly around his. He could feel warmth emanating from her bare thigh. He stared down at their hands, wanting to let go and run his fingers across her leg to see if it felt as smooth as it looked.

"I've never kissed anyone before," she said. He looked back up at her face to find that she had turned her head away from him.

"I haven't either," he admitted. He had hoped that such an admission would have made her feel less embarrassed, but he was horrified to see tears forming in her eyes.

She didn't make a sound as she blinked them away. When one streaked its way down her cheek anyway, he used his free hand to brush it away. He wanted to ask her why she was upset, but he didn't really want to know the answer. He was confused and had no idea how to handle a girl crying – he would likely only make it worse.

"I'm so sorry, Itachi," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

His brow furrowed and he could feel her hand trembling. Her grip on his hand loosened, but she didn't let go.

"I was saving my first kiss for Sasuke," she said shakily, "That was a long time ago, but no one has ever wanted to kiss me before – I mean no one that I wanted to kiss back. It's just that, well, it's you. You're his brother."

He gripped her hand a little tighter, not quite understanding what she meant by that. He was too fixated on the part where she wanted to kiss him back.

"Do you think it would bother him?" he asked.

"What? I don't think he would care at all," she said, "He doesn't give me the time of day. I was worried about _you_."

"Me?" he asked, "Why would you be worried about me?"

"I don't want you to think that I'm just using you as a replacement for him," she said, "That you're just the next best thing."

He let go of her hand and pulled his away from her like he'd been burned. He hadn't considered that before. He hadn't imagined that she ever wanted to kiss him. If he was honest with himself, his infatuation with her was not something he planned on pursuing outside of their minute flirtations. He liked her – it was undeniable. But he had never imagined anything ever coming of it.

And gauging from her reaction to him, she seemed to agree. She treated him the way she treated Naruto when he behaved the same way.

Yet now she was telling him that her affections for him was similar enough to the ones she held for Sasuke that she was worried they would offend him.

"Is that true?" he asked, "Do you see my brother when you look at me?"

"I moved on from Sasuke a long time ago," she said. Her lashes were wet and clumped together. "And you are nothing like him. I thought about Sasuke a lot. I thought that meant that I loved him. But when you touched my hair, my face… When you told me you thought I was pretty on the bridge… I'd never felt like that before."

"Like what?"

"Like my heart was going to explode."

She gripped her mug in her hands like she was going to take another sip, but she simply held it in her cupped hands.

"Like my skin was on fire."

He knew exactly what she meant.

"I was afraid of how often I thought about you – especially after I learned the truth," she said. "And I was afraid that it was because of Sasuke."

"I thought about you, too," he said, "And I was jealous of Sasuke. That he could have had you if he wanted you. And I thought you wanted him."

"But I don't want Sasuke."

"You told me you did," he said, "Back in Toyeiki."

"I used to want him," she answered, "Everyone knew that."

"And now?"

"I don't want him now."

"What _do_ you want?" he asked.

He saw her mouth quirk up into an almost smile – a smirk, but not quite. It was endearing and charming and he wanted to pick her hand back up again, or touch her face, or kiss her.

"The next time you make my heart feel like it's exploding or my skin is on fire," she began, "I want to give in to that feeling. Instead of resisting it."

"You mean you want to kiss me," he asked, feeling a smile forming on his own lips.

She swatted his leg playfully and swiveled so that she was facing the table. "Don't put words in my mouth."

He breathed a sigh of relief because it seemed that the awkwardness and the tenseness of the moment had passed and they could go back to being normal. And he was elated by the thought that she would let him kiss her the next time he tried. He would try to make sure that there would be a next time.

They fell into a comfortable silence for a while, Sakura sipped her tea and Itachi watched her, unable to drop the smile from his face. When she started speaking again, he listened to her talk about Yamato and Sachi, and then her work at the hospital. She talked about Ino and Naruto and Tsunade and Kakashi. He listened, admittedly not paying too much attention. It was nice to hear her talk and to be near her.

He hadn't expected that seeing her would help alleviate his anxiety (even though it made him nervous in a completely different way). But after speaking with her and nearly kissing her, he felt a renewed fear that their mission would go horribly wrong. It was terrifying enough that he might lose Sasuke. Now he was worried that he could lose her too.

She laughed at her own joke – something silly that Naruto had done, and touched his arm lightly. He was startled by the touch and grabbed her hand instinctively. She met his gaze again and the mood shifted.

He wanted to kiss her for the millionth time, but he couldn't.

"Sakura," he started.

The sound of the front door opening jolted him out of the moment. He dropped her hand and moved away from her.

"You can't just use Rasengan on everything, Naruto," Itachi heard Sasuke say, "It's not going to work on someone like Danzo."

"No way," Naruto replied, "It's a great finishing move."

They walked into the kitchen together and Itachi saw a smile on Sasuke's face that he hadn't seen since they had come back to Konoha.

"Sakura," Naruto said, "What are you doing here? We thought you went home."

Sakura merely shrugged, and to her credit she looked very casual. She probably didn't know what to say. Itachi wouldn't have known how to answer either. But Itachi didn't miss the way Sasuke and Naruto exchanged glances.

"Do you guys want to discuss the plan?" she asked, changing the subject, "I have some ideas."

"I thought you were just supposed to be our medic," Sasuke said, "What ideas could you possibly have?"

Quicker than Itachi could see without his Sharingan activated, Sakura launched a senbon at Sasuke. Caught unaware, Sasuke brought his hand to his neck where the senbon had pierced his skin just above his collarbone.

"What the hell, Sakura?" Naruto asked.

Itachi laughed as Sasuke pulled the senbon from his neck, sending a glare in Sakura's direction.

"I was thinking poisoned senbon," she said.

Sasuke flicked the senbon onto the counter, "Do you really think you could hit Danzo with a senbon?"

"I hit you, didn't I?"

"Danzo has a Sharingan, Sakura, and he's going to be prepared for a fight," Sasuke replied.

"Fine," she huffed, "I'll just sit back and do nothing, then."

"No, that's actually a good idea," Itachi said, "Poisoning him. Sakura, tell us more about the poison."

She gave him a grateful smile. "There are several different types of poison I think would be useful against him," she said, "I think the best option is to use senbon as it'll be the easiest way to land a hit on him. I created a poison that will paralyze someone momentarily, which would enable someone to strike the final blow. I've also got a poison that can cause kidney failure, but it's slow acting. That one might be useful in case he succeeds in escaping."

"Yeah, I guess that might work," Sasuke conceded, "Why don't you give me and Itachi a couple of your poisoned senbon and we'll try to make it work."

Itachi saw her eyes narrow dangerously, and he was greatly amused by it. But to his surprise, she didn't argue. She pulled a row of senbon from the pouch in her pink apron and gave half of them to Sasuke. She then turned and offered the other half to him.

"I don't need them," he said, pushing her hand back into her chest.

She shook her head. "I have plenty more," she said, "Please take some."

Reluctantly, he pocketed the senbon. He didn't like that Sasuke undermined her that way – not when she was already so self-conscious about her skills as a ninja. He wanted her to know that he trusted her and he didn't doubt her abilities.

In fact, he was curious to see how she'd be in a fight. He didn't recall ever seeing her fight before, but he knew that she had killed Sasori. Taking down an Akatsuki member was a feat.

"Sakura," he said, and he delighted in the way her eyes focused sharply on him, Sasuke all but forgotten, "I'd like to spar with you. When you aren't busy."

Her eyebrows flew up in surprise, and he noticed a twitch in her lips that indicated she was hiding a smile.

"You want to spar with me?" she asked.

"I've never seen you fight before, but I know you killed Sasori," he said, "I'm curious to see what you're capable of."

"Okay," she agreed. "I'm free tomorrow after I pick up Yamato from the academy."

"Don't get ahead of yourselves," Sasuke said, "We don't know what's going to happen today."

Naruto punched him lightly in the arm, "Shut up, moron."

Itachi stared incredulously at his brother. Sasuke had always had an amazing confidence in himself and his determination for revenge indicated that he didn't plan on losing today. It sounded like he was suggesting…

His eyes drifted to Sakura who was glaring at Sasuke with a vehemence that was terrifying to him. He hoped he would never have to be on the opposite end of a look like that.

"God, Sasuke," she said, "You're such a downer."

"I'm just being realistic," he replied, "There could be some casualties today. We should prepare ourselves for that."

"No," Itachi said, "There will not be any casualties."

"That's the spirit, Itachi!" Naruto exclaimed.

"You're being awfully optimistic," Sasuke said.

It was Itachi's turn to glare at the younger Uchiha. Itachi had always wanted his brother to become strong, to be able to defend himself against anyone who would try to hurt him. He expected that having a strength like that would lend well to him being able to protect those he loved, too.

But maybe not.

"I am not going to allow anyone to be killed," Itachi said with growing confidence. He had always had pride in his abilities, but this time he had something more to prove. It wasn't just about Sasuke.

"Kakashi and Tenzo are formidable opponents," Itachi continued, "And Sakura is the best medic-nin in the world. We have Naruto and his kyuubi. We will not fail. Not with a team like this."

Sasuke scoffed.

"You wouldn't have kidnapped me if you didn't have at least some faith in my skill," Sakura said.

"Yeah, Sasuke, why are you being so depressing?" Naruto asked.

"I'm not being depressing," he insisted, "I just don't understand why we need a whole damn team to do this. Danzo's death belongs to Itachi and me. We were the ones hurt the most by his actions. It has nothing to do with you two."

"You're being selfish," Sakura said, "Isn't the important thing that he's dealt with? I mean, you can strike the final blow if it means that much to you, but is it really so crucial that only you and Itachi be the ones to fight him?"

"I'm an avenger, Sakura- _chan_ ," Sasuke said, his voice dripping with venom, "Revenge on Danzo is all I have now that you took away getting revenge on Itachi."

"You were thanking me for that last night!" Sakura exclaimed. Itachi's eyes snapped to her. It seemed that her relationship with Sasuke was more complicated than he'd thought. "Would you have preferred that I let you kill him? Would you have preferred not to know the truth?"

"That was what he planned for me," Sasuke said tersely, "Maybe it would have brought me peace."

"Oh, come on," Sakura snapped, "Like you don't love having him back. He's been a good brother to you. How could you be _at peace_ having killed the only person on this planet that loves you?"

"Hey, I love him," Naruto chimed in.

He was promptly ignored.

"I wouldn't have known the truth," Sasuke argued, "I'd have believed I avenged my clan. That's what Itachi wanted until you showed up."

" _I_ knew the truth," Sakura said, "I couldn't let you kill him after everything he did for you. He didn't deserve that."

"It's not about you!" Sasuke barked, " _You_ are the one being selfish. You think I don't see the way you look at him? I don't know what happened between you two on your mission, but don't act like you were selflessly acting in my best interest."

"I never claimed to be acting in your best interest," she replied, her face flushed.

"Because obviously whatever is happening between you and my brother is your real motivator here," Sasuke continued, "I reject you a million times and so you decide to go after my criminal brother instead."

"That's enough, Sasuke," Itachi said.

"No," he snapped, "She's only using you."

Itachi felt bile rising in his throat and a flash of anger, though he was unsure at whom it was directed. "There is nothing going on between me and Sakura," he said. He chanced a look at her, but she was staring determinedly at the floor, "She slapped me at the ramen stand, remember?"

Itachi felt Kakashi and Tenzo approaching just before the knock sounded at the door. He gave his brother one last reproachful look before he answered the door.

"Ready to go?" Kakashi asked.

No one said a word as they made their way to the city gates.


	21. Chapter 21

Sakura was boiling over with rage. She had never felt so angry with Sasuke in her life. She had always admired him, even when he was cruel to her. She had always allowed him to have a place in her heart, even when he'd made it clear that he didn't want to be there.

Well, now she didn't want him there either.

She sat perched in a tall tree just outside the city gates. Sasuke and Naruto were somewhere below her, ready to ambush Danzo when he left the village. From her position she could see the path Team Ro would take as they tailed Danzo and she could see any approaching threat and communicate it to her team before they arrived.

The six of them were all connected with earpieces, but radio silence was all she heard. It had been awkward enough on the way to the gates, but luckily Kakashi and Yamato were oblivious to it. Or at least smart enough not to make a comment about it.

She should be sharply focused on her task – and she was. But she couldn't get the niggling thought from her mind. Sasuke had noticed that something was going on between her and Itachi. Even she hadn't realized that something was going on. Sure, she had felt an attraction toward the older Uchiha. She had repressed the urge to kiss him twice now. She'd let her thoughts drift to him when she found herself bored and otherwise unoccupied.

But it was a far leap to assume that it _meant_ anything. She had seen, of course, that Itachi seemed to be attracted to her as well. She wasn't blind. And she knew what lust looked like. She hadn't been lying about all those patients at the hospital that flirted and teased.

But all of those moments between them had been in private. How could Sasuke have known? And what could he possibly have seen? They'd hardly touched each other!

What was most concerning about it is that Sasuke thought she was using him. Her biggest fear about Itachi had been that he would have thought her attraction toward him was due solely to his resemblance to his younger brother. And said younger brother had called her out on it in front of him.

Truthfully, Sakura didn't know how to feel anymore. There was no way she'd ever find herself lusting after Sasuke again. He had been cruel to her countless times. He'd even kidnapped her and forced her to join him against her will. It was easy enough to admit now that her crush on Sasuke had been based on nothing more than his looks.

So how could she then deny an attraction toward Itachi when they looked so much alike?

She didn't have time to think much more on the subject because a loud snapping sound in the distance caught her attention. Over the wall surrounding Konoha, Sakura could see a group dressed in all black running toward the gate.

ROOT, it looked like.

"Guys," she said into the earpiece, "There's a squad of four approaching the gates. Looks like ROOT. I don't see Danzo anywhere."

"Team Ro," she heard Sasuke's voice crackle through the static, "What is your location?"

"Outside the Hokage tower," Kakashi's voice said, "Danzo is still inside."

Sakura cursed. Had Danzo been tipped off? Why would a squad of ROOT members be heading for the gates without him?

"Do not engage them," she heard Itachi's voice in her ear, "They may not be aware of us yet."

Sakura looked back toward the squad and saw them scale the wall, bypassing the Konoha security kiosk. They were close to her tree, probably closer to Naruto and Sasuke who were still somewhere below her.

But they didn't move. The four ROOT members had vaulted themselves over the wall like they had someplace to be, yet now they lounged about at the base of her tree. One of them was casually spinning a kunai around his fingers.

"Are you sure they're out here?" one of them asked.

Sakura held her breath.

"Danzo-sama said they'd be waiting out here," one of the other ones replied, "They're probably hiding."

"One in the tree above us, one in the bush to our right, and the other behind that tree," said a third, a female.

Damn.

Their positions given away, Sakura leapt farther back away from them, deeper into the forest. She would have to trust Naruto and Sasuke to be able to handle them for now. As the medic she couldn't risk getting hurt before Danzo even showed up.

"Come on out, guys," the first voice said, "We know you're out here."

Sakura listened, unable to see much from her new position, but she heard nothing.

"Planning to assassinate a Konoha council member," one of the others said, "That's treason, you know."

Sakura listened again, this time hearing a scuffle and the rustle of leaves. The sounds of blades clashing rang out through the trees. Sakura leapt into a closer tree to get a better look. Sasuke had come out from his hiding spot and was currently engaged in battle with a lean shinobi with red hair. They were both wielding katanas, both expertly slinging their blades through the air.

Naruto was directly below her, trading blows with a kunoichi who seemed to be faring much better than her blonde teammate.

Sakura reached into her apron and gripped her poisoned senbon. If she could hit either of her teammates' opponents, they would be paralyzed, enabling her team to take them out.

"Uh uh," said a smug voice behind her. Cool fingers wrapped around her wrist and tugged her arm back out of her apron. Sakura spun around to face the ROOT member. He looked remarkably young – probably no older than she was, but there were crow's feet around his eyes and a harsh frown marring his features.

Using a burst of chakra, she wrenched her arm free from his grasp and leapt backwards toward the edge of the branch. She glanced back down below her and saw that the fourth member had joined in the fight against Naruto.

This was not good.

"Killing the Godaime's apprentice is treason, too," Sakura said.

The man in front of her scoffed, "Team 7 has been a nuisance to village for too long. The jinchuuriki's death will eliminate the Akatsuki threat. The Uchiha brat was destined to die along with his clan – and we'll finish that job today. You, sweetheart, are just collateral damage."

He lunged at her with a kunai in hand, but she dodged, leaping deftly back down to the ground. She reached back for her senbon, holding one tightly in her fist. She and Naruto were now back to back, surrounded by ROOT. Several feet away from them, Sasuke was finishing off the shinobi with the katana.

Naruto prattled off ten shadow clones, forcing the three shinobi around them to hop back away from them.

"Naruto," Sakura whispered, "Distract them with your shadow clones and I'll hit them with my poison senbon. Then you can finish them off with your Rasengan."

Naruto nodded. Sakura waited as the clones and the ROOT members fought. When she saw an opening, she flung her senbon at the man who had caught her in the tree. She had aimed for his jugular, but he saw her weapon at the last second and dodged. The senbon pierced the skin of his arm before he yanked it out with a smirk and tossed it to the ground.

Behind her, she saw one of the other enemies leaping up into the trees and she aimed another senbon to him, hitting him in the neck. Instantly he collapsed and crashed back down to the ground.

If the senbon and the fall hadn't killed him, the swing of Sasuke's katana did. She glanced back to where Sasuke had stood before to see the other shinobi crumpled on the ground.

Turning back around, Sakura saw that the man she had hit in the arm was on the ground, too, paralyzed by her poison. Naruto launched his Rasengan, hitting the man square in the chest.

There was only one enemy left now. Seeing his squad fallen around him, the shinobi leapt back into the trees and darted back off toward the village. Naruto started after him, but Sasuke held him back with a hand on his shoulder.

"Let him go, Naruto," Sasuke said, "Danzo is our target."

"Team Ro," Sakura said into her radio. Team 7 listened, but there was no response.

"Team Ro, do you copy?" Sasuke said.

"Shit," Naruto said.

Without another word, the three of them set off toward the Hokage tower.

.

When the trio arrived at the Hokage tower, Team Ro was nowhere to be found. Sakura could sense Danzo and the rest of the elders still inside. It appeared that they were still in their meeting.

"Do you think another ROOT squad got to them?" Sakura asked.

Naruto shrugged.

"We took out the ones that came after us pretty easily," Sasuke said, "I don't think that they'd pose much trouble for my brother."

"What should we do?" Sakura asked.

Just then, the doors of the tower burst open. Tsunade and Danzo walked out side by side. Sakura stifled a shriek and pulled Sasuke and Naruto back behind the building and out of sight.

"What are you doing?" Sasuke demanded, shrugged her hands off him. "Now is our chance."

"Not with Tsunade-sama there," Sakura said.

"Yeah," Naruto agreed, "And not in the middle of the village. We don't want to hurt anyone else."

"We should regroup with the rest of the team first," Sakura said, "There must be a good reason for why they aren't here."

Naruto peered around the edge of the building, hoping to hear what Tsunade and Danzo were saying. He pulled back, shaking his head.

A crackle of static in their earpieces startled the trio.

"Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked into her radio.

"Abort mission," they heard their sensei say, "Repeat: abort mission."

Sakura glanced between Naruto and Sasuke. Wherever the rest of Team Ro was, they had failed their mission.

"Let's go back to the rendezvous point," Sasuke suggested, "We'll figure out what to do from there."

.

Team Ro was waiting for them when they arrived back at the Uchiha compound. Sakura was surprised to see that each of them sported some cuts and bruises.

"What happened?" she demanded.

She roved her eyes over the three, checking to see whose injuries were the worst. Determining that it was Kakashi, she quickly pressed her hands to his chest and began to run her diagnostic chakra through him.

"Danzo knew we what we were planning," Yamato said, "We were attacked by a ROOT squad shortly after you saw one approaching your location."

"But we saw him come out of the Hokage tower," Naruto said.

"We were attacked by eighteen ROOT members," Itachi said, "We didn't even see Danzo."

Sasuke hissed. "Eighteen?" he asked, "And he didn't even show his face? He just sent his minions out to do his dirty work."

"He had to have informed Tsunade-sama of what we were planning," Sakura said with a groan. "He already thinks the worst of us. A planned assassination attempt isn't going to go over well with the rest of the council."

"Fuck the council," Sasuke countered, "We will take him out and then we will appoint a new council."

"Who's we?" Sakura retorted. Kakashi winced as she prodded a particular deep wound in his shoulder.

"Tsunade has been on our side so far," Itachi interjected, "I have no doubt she will cooperate in overthrowing the council and appointing a new one. They are too old-fashioned for her."

"Sure," Kakashi said, "But it's going to be no easy task to get rid of them. Not without raising suspicion among the villagers."

"So what's the new plan?" Naruto asked.

"I have a feeling we're about to be called into the Hokage's office," Yamato said. "I'm sure she has a plan for us."

The group looked warily between one another. Everything about this mission had gone horribly wrong. Sakura was bound to be in a heap of trouble with Tsunade now. There was definitive proof of her treason on two separate occasions now. Not only that, but she had defied her orders.

Quickly, Sakura dealt with Yamato's injuries. They had nothing to do but sit around and wait.

By the time she had tended to Yamato and was on Itachi's injuries, everyone had settled down somewhat awkwardly in the living room as they waited for Tsunade's inevitable runner to come.

She tried not to look at his face as she ran her chakra through him. Her spat with Sasuke made her feel uncomfortable around Itachi. She hadn't really sorted out the way she was feeling yet in spite of the generous amount of time she'd given herself to do so. She wondered briefly what the proper protocol was on being attracted to the brother of her childhood crush.

While her hands were stilled pressed into his chest, he latched his fingers around her elbow and stroked the skin there with the pad of his thumb.

It was meant to be a comforting gesture, she knew. But the intimacy of it made her feel even worse, especially with Sasuke and the rest of her team in the room. She brushed his hand away and finished healing a small bruise on his abdomen.

"How are your eyes?" she asked, cold and clinical, "Did you use your Mangekyou?"

She felt a pang of remorse when she saw the look of confusion on his face, but it was quickly whisked away and replaced with impassivity.

"No," he said, his tone carefully neutral.

Sakura fought the urge to return his gesture in some way. She wanted to touch his arm or smile – anything that would comfort him. But she wouldn't do that in front of Sasuke, and Itachi didn't need to be comforted anyway.

Somewhat awkwardly, Sakura dropped her hands to her side. She was blessedly saved when a man in a jonin vest arrived at the door.

.

"You are all a bunch of morons," Tsunade shrieked. Again, the six of them found themselves standing before her desk in her office, all their heads down turned with shame.

"Kakashi, you should know better than this," she continued, fixing the copy-nin with a hard glare, which he impressively management not to be intimidated by. "You too, Tenzo."

Sakura flicked her eyes over to Yamato, who had the decency to look properly chided.

"And you," Tsunade said, pointing an accusing finger at her apprentice, "I really expected better from you, Sakura. This is the kind of behavior I'd expect from Naruto. I thought you were better than this. This is the second time you've pulled something like this."

"I apologize, Tsunade-shishou," Sakura said with a confidence that she did not feel.

"What good is an apology going to do?" she demanded, "You tried to assassinate a member of the council. You defied a direct order and botched your mission."

Sakura bristled and dropped her gaze to the floor.

"And don't even get me started on you Uchihas," Tsunade continued. Beside her, Sakura felt Itachi tense up. He stood on her left with Sasuke on the other side of him. She couldn't see Sasuke, but she imagined he looked as nonchalant as ever. He had never cared about being in trouble with the village he seemed to care nothing about.

"Itachi," Tsunade snapped, "I realize that this all happened because of you. Not only your actions and the actions done to you, but my own as well. I should have known better than to allow you back into the village while Danzo was still here. Believe me, I hate the man as much as you do, but, as I'm sure you know, there are certain ways we have to go about things. We can't just go killing all the people we don't like."

"Yes, Hokage-sama," he replied. She looked stunned that he had spoken at all, let alone in agreement with what she had said.

"I was going to have him removed from the council," she said, her tone a little softer. "I needed proof that he had committed a crime against Konoha. That was all. Why on earth did the lot of you think that this was a good idea?"

"Tsunade-shishou," Sakura began, "You said that Sai's death was congruent with a genjutsu only the Sharingan is capable of. Danzo was in possession of a Sharingan."

Beside her Sakura felt Itachi move again and when she glanced at him she found him staring at her with a trace of… anger? "Sakura," he mumbled, his tone low and warning.

"Whose?" Tsunade demanded, turning to look at the elder Uchiha.

Itachi breathed in deeply through his nose, but the carefully neutral mask he wore was still in place. He pressed his lips together in a thin line and gave Sakura a sidelong glance again.

"Whose?" she repeated.

Sakura wanted to answer for him. Tsunade was angry with her and giving her this information could only help her out in the long run. She'd hidden so much information from her already – she owed it to her mentor to share everything she knew.

But she couldn't understand why Itachi wouldn't want Tsunade to know. It would only absolve him and his brother from blame.

The name was on the tip of her tongue. Shisui, Itachi had said. His cousin. Another Uchiha who had stood with Itachi against the rest of his clan. Just when she was about to speak his name aloud, she felt Itachi reach out and grab her wrist. She yanked her arm away from him angrily

"Don't," she said to him, rubbing her wrist where he had touched her. His Sharingan was activated now and for the first time since she had learned the truth, Sakura felt a twinge of fear.

"What the hell is going on?" Tsunade asked, her eyes darting warily between Sakura and Itachi.

"It was Shisui's left eye," Itachi said, inching a step farther away from Sakura, "My cousin's. Danzo took it just before the massacre. He didn't want Shisui to use it to put the clan under a genjutsu to prevent the coup."

Tsunade blinked slowly and breathed in deeply. "Do you think it would have prevented the coup?" she asked, "If your cousin had been able to use it?"

"I don't see how that is relevant," he said coolly and Sakura saw Tsunade's brow twitch, "But no, I don't think it would have been a permanent solution. It may have bought us some time."

Sakura was thankful that Tsunade seemed to have let the first remark slide. "So he attacked your cousin and took his eye…" she said, trailing off, "And then gave you the order to kill your clan."

Itachi nodded.

"Okay," she said, slamming her hand down on the table, "Here's what's going to happen. Danzo will be taken into custody today. If he does indeed have a Sharingan under that bandage, that will be proof enough that he killed Sai and that he attacked an Uchiha before the massacre. While he is in custody, I will formulate a plan to get him removed from the council should he stand trial and be found innocent. All of you are to stay as far away from him as possible. Don't pull anymore shit like that you did today or you will regret it."

Her command was met with a chorus of nods and yesses.

"Good," she said, "Now everyone out. Except you two."

She pointed her forked fingers at Itachi and Sakura. Sakura resisted the urge to groan aloud. This was definitely not going to be good.

Everyone shuffled out of the room, exiting the door behind them. On his way out, Sasuke gave Sakura a glare that could only be described as suspicious. When the door had been firmly shut behind him, Tsunade cleared her throat and raised a questioning eyebrow.

"Sakura," Tsunade began with a tone that wasn't as harsh or demanding as Sakura had expected, "You haven't yet cleared Itachi for his return to ANBU. What's the hold up?"

Sakura tried to hide her surprise. After witnessing Itachi grab her arm like that, she was sure Tsunade would have had something to say about it.

"Oh," Sakura replied, "Well, he should be good to go soon. He is in perfect health as of now, but I'm worried that if he is hit with any kind of poison that it will cause his condition to regress. After a couple more sessions I should be able to eliminate that risk."

"And his eyes?"

"I have not looked at his eyes, Tsunade-shishou," she replied.

"And you've not looked at Sasuke's either?"

Sakura shook her head.

"I cannot force either of you into letting Sakura work on your eyes," Tsunade said to Itachi, "But I strongly suggest that you let her. She knows what she is doing."

"I have no objection to it," he responded.

"Then it's settled," Tsunade said, "Sakura, I want him cleared within the week. I have a mission for him."

Sakura blinked in surprise and looked at Itachi.

"A mission?" he asked.

"I'll tell you more about it once you've been cleared," she answered, "You're both dismissed."

Sakura didn't need to be told twice. She was gone the second Tsunade uttered her dismissal. As if the botched mission wasn't enough, Sakura was still reeling from all of the _uncomfortableness_ between her and Itachi. All she wanted was to be as far away from him as possible.

She didn't even stop when he called her name.

.

Ino was sitting in her usual spot at the table when Sakura arrived back at her apartment. She looked better – less puffy, face dry.

"Ino, how are you feeling?" she asked, kicking the door shut and collapsing in the opposite chair at the table.

"Coping, I guess," she said, running a weary hand over her face. "I just need to be distracted. It sucks when I'm bored and alone."

"Well, then let me tell you about the day I've had," Sakura answered, excited to have a person willing and eager to let her vent her frustrations.

She spilled everything to Ino – the details about her assigned mission and the circumvention they took. If anyone was willing to be on Sakura's side – Team 7's side – it had to be Ino. How could she not want revenge on the man that had killed Sai?

"And Tsunade didn't punish you?" Ino asked after she'd listened to the entire story. "Wow, you're lucky. She didn't punish you for working with Itachi, either."

Sakura didn't mention the intense sparring session that had left her with more than a few cuts and bruises.

"I have a feeling the punishment will be forthcoming," Sakura said with a sigh. "And speaking of Itachi…"

Ino's ears perked up like a dogs, and Sakura could see the eager excitement on her face. "What about him?" she asked with an overly seductive wiggle of her eyebrows.

"God, you too?" Sakura groaned, "How does everyone know?"

"I'm your best friend," she said, "It's my job to notice these things. Now spill."

"Well, I noticed that he's attracted to me—"

"Obviously, why wouldn't he be?"

"And it surprised me a little at first, but I suppose it makes sense," she said, ignoring Ino's interruption. "We've kind of had to spend a lot of time together with his healing sessions and Yamato and Sachi, and all. He doesn't seem to spend much time with anyone else other than Sasuke."

"Not to mention you saved his life and you brought him and Sasuke back together again," Ino pointed out.

"Yeah…"

"And I know you have to admit that he's attractive," Ino said with a smirk, "He's Sasuke's hot older brother."

"Yeah, he's attractive," Sakura said reluctantly.

Ino raised a questioning eyebrow.

"I thought he was going to kiss me today," Sakura admitted, "There have been a couple of moments where I thought he might, but he seems really hesitant. But I've been sort of hesitant about him, too, so I don't know…"

"Just freaking kiss him," Ino said, "If he wants to and you want to, then what's the hold up?"

"It's Sasuke," Sakura answered, "I don't think he's on board with the idea."

"Why? It's not like he's into you."

"Ouch."

"Come on," Ino said, "We both know that's true."

Sakura rolled her eyes, "Yeah, it's true. But I think that he thinks I'm only interested in Itachi as a 'replacement' for him. He thinks I'm going to end up hurting him."

"Aww, how sweet," Ino said with over the top sarcasm, "A couple of weeks ago he wanted to murder him and now he wants to protect him from a broken heart."

Sakura scoffed, "Right? And it's not like we're getting married. I mean, it can barely even be considered flirting. It's nothing."

"If I were you, I'd just ignore Sasuke," Ino said, "What's he going to do about it?"

"It's not just Sasuke," Sakura said, "There was some weird tension between us today. I'm not entirely sure what it was about."

It was a lie, because she _did_ know what it was about. At least, what most of it was about. She had been cold toward him after her fight with Sasuke, which wasn't entirely fair. And then she had told Tsunade about Shisui – or been about to tell her. Itachi didn't seem to like that very much.

She would be seeing him again tomorrow, both for their spar and for his healing session. She wondered whether she should apologize for either, or both, or just not say anything about it at all.

"Well, I'm happy you've moved on from Sasuke," Ino said, "That boy is such a drag."

Sakura smiled in amusement, but she wondered whether it was any better that she had moved on to his brother instead.


	22. Chapter 22

Itachi was in a bad mood. It didn't happen very often, but he felt irritable and bitter and just plain annoyed. Itachi was the kind of man who could roll with the punches. He could go with the flow. Things didn't always have to be his way. How else could he have managed being a missing-nin, being in Akatsuki?

But today, he let those negative feelings seep through him. He didn't even attempt to control them. For the better part of the morning, Itachi sulked around the Uchiha compound, avoiding Sasuke as much as possible.

The younger Uchiha had picked up on Itachi's bad mood and steered clear of him on his own, which Itachi was grateful for. He wasn't really angry with Sasuke and he didn't want to inadvertently snap at him.

He _should_ be at least a little bit irritated with Sasuke because he'd provoked Sakura with no real reason, and he'd implied that she was interested in him for his resemblance to Sasuke. The fact that he had noticed that she was interested in him all was surprising since Itachi himself hadn't really noticed until she had pretty much told him.

Nonetheless, Itachi was not concerned with Sasuke at the moment. He hated to admit it, even just to himself, but Sakura was the one who had gotten under his skin. She had brushed off a tender gesture of his (a kind of gesture which he rarely gave and should be savored – not rebuffed) and acted more coldly than she had even back in Toyeiki when he was still an 'enemy' to her.

Not only that, but she had almost told the Hokage about Shisui, which was something he had told her in confidence. It had not been her secret to tell. And then she had the audacity again to brush him off when he touched her.

Itachi did not like to be brushed off.

Given that he did not have much else to do, Itachi was glad to have some time to cool down before his spar with her today. He had thought about canceling, but truth be told, he still wanted to see her. And if he canceled the spar, he'd have to cancel his healing appointment, too, which would prolong his getting back into active duty. That was not something he wanted to do.

So instead, he found himself gravitating toward Ichiraku's again. Cheap ramen wasn't his favorite, but he'd developed a fondness for the place after the few times he'd been.

He was surprised to find Kakashi there when he arrived.

"Itachi-san," he greeted with a crinkle of his visible eye. Itachi took the seat next to him. "I see you escaped Tsunade-sama's wrath relatively unscathed."

Itachi acknowledged him with a nod of his head. "She still has not punished any of us. I'd heard that she had quite a temper, but I'm beginning to believe that I was misled."

"Oh, she's got a temper all right," Kakashi replied, "From the look of it, though, I'd say she's taking it all out on her apprentice. I saw them sparring a couple of days ago and she beat the shit out of Sakura."

Itachi cocked his head with curiosity, "She did?"

"It was a total beat down," Kakashi continued, "Sakura didn't stand a chance."

Itachi ordered a bowl of ramen but said nothing else to Kakashi. He wasn't quite sure what to say to that.

They sat in companionable silence for a while before Kakashi spoke again.

"I hear you'll have a mission soon," he said, "How does it feel to be back in active duty again?"

"To be quite honest, it doesn't feel like I ever stopped," Itachi answered. It felt strange to be sitting next to Kakashi in such a friendly manner. Before the reunion of Team Ro, the last time he had seen the copy-nin he had used Tsukuyomi to put him into a coma. He liked to think it was for his own good – so he could see what his Mangekyou was capable of.

And also so Itachi could see how well he could handle an opponent with Sharingan. If he was any good at it, he could pass on some of that knowledge to Sasuke. Itachi had been pleased to learn that Kakashi was going to be Sasuke's team leader. If only things hadn't turned out the way they did…

"I see," Kakashi said, "Well, I'm glad to have you back on our side. It was nerve-wracking to be your opponent."

"It was nerve-wracking to be _your_ opponent," Itachi responded.

Kakashi's expression grew somber, "I can't imagine," he said, "We thought you were a criminal, a traitor. We hated you."

"I still am those thing," Itachi said, "It may have been for a mission, for the safety of Konoha, but I committed those crimes all the same. I am not without blame."

"What shinobi isn't?" Kakashi asked with a smile.

Itachi had no response for that, so he ate his food and that comfortable silence settled around them again. Kakashi had a darkness in him, too. They could relate to one another. He hoped that with time, they could be friends.

"May I ask you something, Kakashi-san?" Itachi asked.

Kakashi nodded.

"The Hokage's apprentice," he began apprehensively, "She's looked at your Sharingan before?"

"Sakura?" Kakashi asked, his eye crinkled in mirth again in some joke that Itachi was not aware of, "Yeah, she's worked on it in the past. Obviously it's a transplant. I assume it requires a bit more upkeep than yours do. I'm lucky to have someone so competent working on it consistently. She's greatly reduced the deterioration. She's been working on a way for me to be able to switch it on and off. As of yet, we've had no luck, but I'm confident she can do it."

Itachi chewed a bit of his food thoughtfully.

"Are you going to have her work on your eyes as well?" Kakashi asked.

"The Hokage strongly suggested that I do."

"Well, you're in good hands," Kakashi answered, "Sakura knows what she is doing."

Itachi didn't doubt that.

.

Several hours later, Itachi came to the training grounds. Sakura was there already, sitting underneath a tree with a thick book in her lap. She looked peaceful and undisturbed, but Itachi knew that she knew he was there.

He briefly considered going easy on her. She was no match for him and they both knew it. But it couldn't have felt good being destroyed by Tsunade. Even her own teammates doubted her skills. He couldn't relate to that, but he knew that letting her win would only bruise her ego even more.

And he was still a little peeved at her, so this would be a good opportunity to take out some of his own frustrations like Tsunade had done.

When she still didn't acknowledge him, Itachi approached her and slipped the book out of her lap. She glared up at him beneath those damned lashes and got to her feet.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

Something flashed across her face – an emotion Itachi couldn't identify. She looked as if she were about to say something, but then thought better of it. She merely nodded in response.

He didn't give her much of a chance to get her bearings before he was attacking her, raining down blow after blow. It was only taijutsu, no chakra, no tricks. But he was much faster than she was and she only just managed to block each of his attacks.

He honestly had no clue what her offensive strengths were. He had heard that she had excellent chakra control, but that remained to be seen.

Having the good sense to get away from his onslaught, Sakura leapt up high into the trees, hiding herself within the branches and the leaves. It wouldn't be a permanent solution, and she had to have known that. He activated his Sharingan and quickly located her.

As soon as he launched himself after her, she jumped down to the base of the tree she had been standing in and kicked it over. The massive tree began to fall toward him, but he easily dodged it. She launched a barrage of shuriken at him, which he easily dodged and jumped on top of the fallen tree.

She picked up the tree's trunk, forcing him to either ride it as she swung it around or jump off. He jumped off and moved behind her so quickly that in her surprise she dropped the tree.

He paused, hovering over her shoulder. He could attack again. He could sweep her legs out from under her or press a kunai to her throat. But for one split second he found himself staring at the different shades of pink in her hair and he could smell the vanilla scent that always lingered around her.

She didn't waste the opportunity. She spun around with a high kick, aiming for his head. He caught her ankle with one hand and held it up in the air. From her upside down position, Sakura punched the ground beneath her causing a deep crater to form.

Itachi leapt backwards and then up into the trees. He had known about her monstrous strength. He had seen it in action the day he met her. It was a useful defensive strategy, but she would never be able to hit him unless she improved her speed.

He spotted her below him and she had her hip cocked out and a sassy smirk on her face. A wide grin spread across his face. He leapt down behind her again and threw his arm around her neck. It was a chokehold, but he applied no pressure to her throat. Her hands flew up to his arm, but he quickly caught both her wrists with his free hand and pinned them to her back.

"You look awfully confident," he teased.

Her breathing was slow and unlabored, but he could feel the quickness of her pulse in her neck and the layer of sweat that had formed on her skin in the heat of the afternoon.

She hummed low and deep in the back of her throat and leaned her head back against his shoulder. The back of her skull connected with his collarbone and she pressed her back into his chest in a way that was far too intimate to be doing to an opponent.

He felt his breath hitch, but he didn't loosen his grip on her. In fact, he tightened his arm around her neck in response. She turned her face toward him, the skin of her forehead brushing against his jaw. He couldn't choke her that way unless he moved his hand to her throat.

She stomped her foot on the ground, aiming for his foot. He anticipated the move and pushed her away from him. She spun around to face him, standing several feet away, and in spite of the sun beating down on him, he wished she was pressed against him again.

She was smiling, and it seemed to be a genuine smile – not cocky or sarcastic, but completely born from happiness. His heart ached to think of what might have made her smile like that at a time like this.

He didn't stop to think about it before launching another round of physical blows against her. This time, she found it harder to dodge him. She took several hits to her abdomen and face, but Itachi didn't pull his punches. She was a medic – there was no injury she wouldn't be able to fix. None that he would be willing to inflict on her.

After a minute of this, Sakura began to throw punches back at him instead of merely dodging them. He was careful not to let any of her punches strike him, but she didn't seem to be using her chakra-enhanced strength. With his Sharingan he could see that she did not have any chakra built up in her hands, so when she aimed for his face, he caught her fist in his hand.

They paused like that for a moment, staring at one another with a weird tension between them. He wanted to let go, but he also wanted to keep touching her. She didn't pull away from him. She took a step closer to him, fluttering her lashes in a way he _knew_ was meant to be a distraction.

And then he felt a stab of pain in his hand. He yanked it away from her and took a step back. He inspected his palm and found four puncture marks just below his largest knuckles that went all the way through his hand.

"How did you do that?" he asked, unable to hide his curiosity.

"Chakra scalpels."

He should have known that. He had seen her use them before. Annoyed with himself, Itachi leapt high up into the air and launched a large fireball at her. Through the flames he saw her dodge backwards, but instead of launching another attack at him, she waited.

He cradled his injured hand with the other one, unable to contain the blood dripping down at his feet. They were severe wounds and he would eventually bleed out if he didn't wrap them up soon.

"Would you like me to heal your hand before we continue?" she asked, her tone mocking, but not cruel.

His eyes narrowed. He'd seen enough already. With blinding speed, he knocked her to the ground and straddled her, pinning her arms high above her head. She wriggled beneath him, and he saw chakra forming beneath the skin of her arms, ready to break out of his grip.

He squeezed her wrists hard and let the tomoe of his Sharingan begin to spin. Instantly, he felt her body go rigid beneath him and she screwed her eyes shut.

"No, please," she said, and the pleading fear in her tone alarmed him.

He deactivated his Sharingan and let go of her wrists, but stayed on top of her, pressing his palms into the ground on either side of her head.

"You agreed to spar with me," he said gently, "Did you not think I would use my Sharingan against you?"

"You said you wouldn't," she said, her eyes still shut and arms lax above her head.

"Okay," he said, "You can open your eyes."

She did, and he noticed a faint blush dust her cheeks. She was very still underneath him as if she were afraid to move. He watched her swallow hard, following the movement in her throat.

"I won," he said, but there was no smugness in his tone He didn't feel smug, nor did he feel good about beating her.

"I figured you would," she said. He watched as the blood from his palm began to pool around his hand down toward her neck. Feeling it tickle the skin there, she reached her hand toward his, dipping her fingertips into the blood on the ground. "Let me take a look at your hand."

He didn't want to move.

"Come on, Itachi," she said when he showed no intention of moving, "You're losing a lot of blood."

"I'm fine," he said even though he knew she was right.

Impatiently, she bucked her hips up into his, wriggling beneath him to force him to move. He pressed his lips together in a thin line and tightened his hold on her.

"Don't," he warned.

Her eyes widened a bit, but she remained still underneath him. After a beat of silence, she reached her hand up to his chest and he felt her chakra flow through his chest. It channeled through his torso and down his arm into his injured hand. He watched in fascination as the wounds in his hand began to close.

When the aura of her chakra had faded, he brought his hand up to inspect it. The wound was completely healed, no trace of a scar.

"I didn't know you could do it that way," he said, flipping his hand over to inspect the other side.

"It would have been quicker and easier if you'd just let me take a proper look at it," she admonished.

Her hand was still pressed warmly against his chest, and this time it felt far more intimate than any of the previous times she'd touched him there. Instinctively, he brought his palm to her hand and covered it with his.

He could feel how wildly his heart was beating, and he knew Sakura must be able to feel it, too. He moved her hand up higher on his chest, closer to where his heart was thumping.

"Do you want to kiss me now?" she asked. He looked down at her, covered in bruises he'd inflicted on her with his blood matting down her hair on one side.

"Yes," answered, trying very hard to focus on anything other than how warm and soft she felt beneath him.

"Is your heart exploding?" he asked.

"Yes."

He moved their hands from his chest to hers so that he could feel her heartbeat. Sure enough, it was beating just as wildly as his.

She fluttered her lashes and _god_ he had no idea how such a simple gesture could be so alluring. He'd march straight down into a mouth of a volcano if she asked him to with a pretty flutter of those lashes. Unable to resist anymore, he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers.

If Itachi thought that his heart had 'exploded' before, he was wrong. _This_ feeling was indescribable. It was like being struck by lightning. His whole body felt electric, tingling and on fire. He let out a breath against her lips and pressed his body more fully against hers.

Her hands came to his face, holding him there as if she were afraid he might pull away. She didn't need to worry about that. Her mouth was soft and pliant, and though he had intended to kiss her chastely, just to test the waters, she was eagerly kissing him back with enthusiasm he hadn't expected.

She bucked her hips again, this time for an entirely different reason. A new, but familiar sensation ignited him – like the moment the prostitute had sat in his lap, but far, _far_ more enticing.

Sakura mewled softly into his mouth and he could feel her fingers trembling against his face. He reached up and cupped her chin with one hand before pulling away from her.

"Don't stop," she whispered.

She wrapped her hands around the back of his neck in an attempt to pull him back down to her lips, but he resisted.

"Sakura, wait," he said. She let go of him.

"What's wrong?"

"We should slow down."

He wasn't prepared for the look of sheer pain on her face. Surely she knew that he didn't want to stop because he didn't _want_ her. His arousal was distracting enough to him – he knew she had to feel it against her leg. It was too far. It was too much. They shouldn't be doing this out in the open, on the training fields. And maybe they shouldn't be doing it at all.

He'd never shared an intimacy like this with anyone, and even though it wasn't much so far, he never anticipated that it would feel so… exhilarating.

But he imagined he would have taken it much slower. He'd have given her a chaste kiss first, one that they could tell their kids about when they were older. One that was a sweet and romantic gesture and not a manic make-out session after a sweaty spar.

It hadn't really occurred to Itachi that Sakura might not be as much of a romantic. He naturally assumed that most women would have preferred a slow and steady romance to whatever _this_ was.

But here she was, practically dry humping him on the naked earth like they were both a couple of wild animals.

She sighed and he felt her breath on his face. There was a look of disappointment on her face, but it was quickly whisked away and replaced with a half smile.

"Yeah, I suppose this is a little intense for a first kiss, huh?" she said.

He smiled back and pressed his lips to her forehead in a way he hoped she would find tender and comforting. He certainly hadn't wanted to offend her. He got off of her and reached out his hand to help her off the ground.

He was amused to see her blushing deeply like the ordeal had embarrassed her. Maybe it had. Maybe it should. She pulled her hair over her shoulder to hide her face from him, but when her fingers skimmed through the matted blood there she grimaced.

"Sorry," he said, but he was smirking and he probably didn't look very sorry.

"I'll have to go home and clean up before we start your appointment," she said, still blushing.

"Can I ask you something first?" he asked, grabbing her wrist. "Why are you so afraid of my Sharingan?"

She looked uncomfortable and attempted to take a step back, but he held onto her.

"I wouldn't hurt you, you know," he said.

"It's not that. It's just that with a genjutsu," she paused and slid her hand into his, grasping his fingers with hers, "Well, I don't like feeling like I'm not in control of my own thoughts. And I know what you're capable of."

He looked down to where their fingers were clasped together and he shifted them so that their fingers were intertwined. In some ways it felt more intimate than the kiss they had shared. "I see," he said, brushing his thumb along the edge of her pointer finger.

"I don't want you to think I'm afraid of you," she said. He watched a shiver run through her.

"I know you aren't," he answered.

"I just feel very vulnerable," she said, "When you're in control of me like that."

"I understand," he said, because he did. He certainly wouldn't want to open up his mind to Sasuke like that, and he trusted Sasuke completely. "But maybe one day you'll trust me enough to let me show you what I can do."

"Maybe," she echoed.

They fell silent and he took the opportunity to study her. Her lips were slightly swollen from their kiss and her cheeks were flushed with color. There was something in her eyes, hesitancy, or maybe regret. She didn't look unhappy per se, but there was something about her facial expression that made Itachi worry.

He followed her line of sight down to their linked hands. She was staring at where their fingers were tangled together, but she made no move to pull her hand away. Sensing that she didn't want to be holding his hand anymore, he let go.

Her brow furrowed for one second before smoothing out again. She looked up at him and he suddenly realized how close they were still standing. She was a head shorter than him, her forehead coming up to his collarbone. It would be so easy to lean down and kiss her again, but maybe that wasn't such a good idea.

Instead, he reached up and caught a lock of her blood soaked hair and rolled it between his fingertips. The contrast of colors was striking – the red and the pink. It suited her really well, he thought, which was probably why she chose to wear red clothing. His eyes dipped down to her torso, roaming over the well fitting red vest she wore before he brought his gaze back up to her eyes and then again to her hair still held in his fingers.

"You have a thing for my hair, don't you?" she asked teasingly.

Her affectionate and coquettish tone made warmth spread throughout his chest, and he smiled.

"Your lashes, actually," he said.

"My lashes?"

"Mmm," he murmured, "They're so long."

He brought his other hand up to her face. Her eyes fell shut and he brushed the pad of his thumb along the tips of her lashes where they rested against her cheeks.

"And so pink," he continued.

He moved his hand away from her face and settled it on the side of her neck. Her skin felt unbearably hot under his palm and he could feel her pulse, quick and erratic.

"I thought you knew," he said, "Because there were times when it seemed like you were fluttering them on purpose."

She fluttered them then, batting them in a way more provocative than he'd seen her do before and he realized that he'd been mistaken. If _that_ was what it looked like when she did it on purpose, he knew he wouldn't stand a chance against her.

"I had no idea," she said coyly.

Without warning, she latched her arms around his torso and pulled him into a warm embrace. She rested her cheek against his chest, pressing her body into his like she wanted to melt them together.

Caught by surprise, Itachi grunted. After a second, he wrapped his arms back around her and rested his chin on the top of her pink head.

They stayed that way for a moment and Itachi relished the moment. The sun was now hanging lower in the sky, casting oranges and pink around them. The air had cooled somewhat, though it was still quite warm. And he could feel her heartbeat against his chest.

When she finally pulled away from him he saw that she was smiling. The rays of the sun gilded her hair and made her eyes look brighter and greener. If he had thought that it wouldn't scare her, he would have activated his Sharingan so that he could memorize the way she looked then.

"What was that for?" he asked.

"I just wanted to hug you," she said, "I wasn't exactly into it the first time."

He cocked his head to the side.

"In Toyeiki?" she reminded him, "After I healed you."

Ah, right. He had forgotten about that. That seemed like so long ago now. He hadn't thought he'd ever see her again after they left Toyeiki. That hug had been wrought from poor judgment and desperation, but also from a very real gratitude for what she had done for him.

It was so bizarre to think that he had hugged her because she had healed him, and now he was here in Konoha with her and _she_ had chosen to hug _him._

"Speaking of," she said, "We should get to the hospital for your appointment. I'll meet you there in an hour?"

They would be doing things in reverse order this time.

He nodded.


	23. Chapter 23

By the time Sakura had gotten back to her apartment to wash the blood from her hair her nerves had been calmed. She had just _kissed_ Itachi Uchiha – practically made out with him on the training fields!

Sometimes it seemed like Itachi was an entirely different breed of man. Sakura, of course, had never been romantically involved with anyone before, but that didn't mean she knew nothing about men. She observed Ino and the plethora of men that had come and gone from her life, the games they played with her (or more often, the ones she played with them). She saw the dynamics between the rest of the Konoha 12 – Naruto and Hinata, whatever the hell was happening there. Shikamaru and Temari. Neji and Tenten.

But watching those relationships form (and un-form) didn't really give her any insight to Itachi. He was simultaneously open about his attraction toward her, and reserved about acting on it. She imagined that he must be as confused as she was. After all, wasn't he in the same position? To her knowledge, Itachi had never been romantically involved with anyone, either.

Maybe he was hesitant, too.

She stood in her shower, letting the water run over her hair and her back. Pink water filtered around her feet and down the drain behind her. She washed her hair with her vanilla shampoo and then quickly scrubbed the rest of her body, cleansing it of the sweat and grime from their spar. She noticed the bruises on her arms and her chest, and she imagined there were a couple on her face as well. Itachi certainly hadn't gone easy on her.

But she didn't heal them. They would heal on their own, and she needed to save her chakra for Itachi.

Sakura quickly got dressed, this time in her medic uniform, and brushed her wet hair. Usually she would dry it, but she didn't want to keep Itachi waiting. Instead she let it fall free down her hair, where the dampness of it caused it to curl up more than normal.

Mentally, Sakura steeled herself to see him again because it seemed too soon. Would she be able to face him again without blushing? Would things be weird between them now?

In spite of her apprehension, Sakura was excited to see him again.

.

He was waiting by the door of her in-patient room when she arrived, and she cursed herself for being late.

But when he saw he walking toward him he smiled, a smile that made her heart turn to liquid and pool down into her belly. Upon closer inspection, she noticed that he had showered, too. His hair was still damp, but straight – unlike hers.

Willing herself not to blush (after all, she had no reason to be embarrassed), she smiled back and brushed past him to unlock the door. He followed her inside and took his place on the table.

"Itachi-san," she said, keeping her tone cool and professional. That was the way it had to be when she was conducting business. She noticed a hint of a frown flitter across his face. "This last session should completely eradicate your disease and prevent your body from harming itself anymore. It won't take too long, but I'll need to be very focused, so please don't distract me."

She was referring to what he had done last time – touching her hair and her face. Now that he had kissed her, she worried he would feel emboldened to do more this time. Not worried, per se, because she couldn't deny that she'd likely enjoy whatever ministrations he chose to inflict on her. But now was not the time.

"You called me Itachi-san," he said. If she didn't know any better, she could have sworn that he was pouting.

"I'm in medic mode," she replied, "I have to be professional."

"I like you better in just plain Sakura mode," he said. He reached out his hand and grabbed hers, pulling her closer to where he was sitting.

"Cut it out," she huffed, "I have work to do."

From his position on the table, they were eye to eye with one another. He leaned in close to her, the tip of his nose ghosting along her cheek. "You smell good," he said, "Like vanilla."

She pressed a hand to his chest, and with a minute amount of chakra, she pushed him back away from her. He looked surprised, but also amused.

"I apologize, Sakura-san," he said reverently.

She resisted the urge to laugh because she didn't want to encourage him. Satisfied that he was not going to make any more attempts to distract her, Sakura began to channel her chakra into him. At this point, she was familiar enough with his body that the procedure should be simple.

This was the last step he needed before he could resume active duty. He must have been stir crazy sitting at the Uchiha compound this whole time. Other than the Danzo fiasco, he probably didn't experience much excitement. And Tsunade had said that she had a mission for him. He must have been looking forward to it.

But now that she thought about it, she didn't really know. Maybe Itachi wouldn't want to take missions for Konoha. After all, what the village had done to him was unforgiveable. Maybe he wanted to stay home and live in peace.

"Are you looking forward to going on a mission?" she asked, her eyes still closed in concentration.

"I thought you needed to be very focused," he said. She could _hear_ the smirk. She opened her eyes to glare at him.

"It will depend on what the mission is," he answered after she'd closed her eyes again, "I'm primarily suited for stealth missions, but I have never worked under Tsunade-sama before and I don't know what type of mission she will assign me."

"Tsunade-sama is smart," Sakura answered, carefully threading her chakra through his heart and lungs, "I'm sure she will give you a mission that plays into your strengths."

Itachi grunted in response.

"Do you disagree?"

Itachi shifted on the table, but Sakura didn't open her eyes to look at him. "I don't think she should have assigned Team 7 to anything that involved Danzo," he said, "It seems like a pretty big conflict of interests, especially with Sasuke involved."

Sakura didn't have a response for that, and even though her first instinct was to defend her mentor's honor, she kept her mouth shut.

"But I suppose I had some pretty poor judgment where Danzo was concerned as well," he admitted.

Sakura opened her eyes to look at him. He was watching her with a mixture of curiosity and amusement.

Tsunade-sama can be… progressive," Sakura said, "She clashes with the elders a lot because of that, but I think she's an amazing Hokage."

Itachi's face broke into a wide grin. "Her apprentice is pretty great, too," he said.

She closed her eyes again and willed herself not to blush. "Don't distract me," she said.

He remained silent while she finished her work. When she finally pulled away from him, she opened her eyes to find him staring at her still.

"You're all finished, Itachi-san," she said, picking up his chart to fill in some new information, "How do you feel?"

He stood up and she could feel him towering over her shoulder as she worked on his chart. "I've never felt better," he said, and she could feel his breath in her hair.

"Itachi…" she said, dropping his chart on the table beside her.

"You're out of medic mode now," he said. "That's good."

She spun around and found herself in his arms, pressed far closer together than was entirely appropriate. His hands had found their way to her waist and she could feel that they were trembling.

"Hey," she said, pressing a firm hand to his chest, "You're the one who said we should slow down, remember?"

He took a step back away from him and she swore she saw a faint blush on his cheeks. "Right," he said, "It's just hard not to kiss you when you're so close."

If Inner Sakura still existed, she'd have been screaming.

"Well, maybe you shouldn't stand so close, then," she suggested.

"That would be wise," he said, unfazed. But then his fingers were trailing over a particularly nasty bruise on her arm. His eyes were locked onto her face, probably looking at her cheek where she could feel that she was slightly swollen. "Why did you not heal yourself?" he asked.

Inwardly, she pulled her chakra to where she felt herself injured, a green glow emitting from her bruises. "I just wanted to make sure I'd have enough chakra to fix you up," she answered.

He watched in fascination as her bruises faded into her skin, leaving no marks behind. He grazed his fingers across the smooth, unmarked skin of her arm.

A knock at the door made them both spring apart. Without much more warning, the door opened, revealing Shizune.

"Sakura," she said briskly. She paused for a moment when she saw how close Itachi and Sakura were still standing, but to her credit, she didn't let her gaze linger. "Tsunade-sama wants to see you."

"I'll be right there," Sakura said.

Shizune shut the door, but Sakura noticed the slight raise in her brow before she left. She would not asked Sakura about it – she respected her privacy, but she would be curious, that's for certain.

"I'll come with you," Itachi said. "My medic just cleared me for active duty and I think I've got a mission to go on."

" _Your_ medic?"

He grinned in response.

Sakura felt a heat rising in her cheeks and her heartbeat felt heavy in her chest. "You're being awfully flirtatious, Itachi," she said, "It's not like you."

"Is it not?" he asked, bemused, "How would you know?"

"I guess I don't," Sakura admitted, "But I can't imagine you flirting with other Akatsuki members. Did you have a bit of a thing going on with Kisame?"

Itachi's expression faltered for a moment and she wondered if that was something she shouldn't have said. She had only been joking.

"I'm sorry, Itachi," she said, "I didn't mean to—"

"It's okay, Sakura," he interjected, "It's been a while since I thought about him."

"I shouldn't have brought it up," she said, feeling guilty.

"This coming from the woman who routinely brought up the darkest moment of my life in the first days we'd known each other," he said with a hint of a smile.

She couldn't look at him then, because he was right. She had thrown the massacre in his face at nearly every opportunity to. She hadn't known, of course, the truth behind things. Had she been aware of the kind of man Itachi really was she would never have said such cruel things to him. It pained her now to think of what he might have been feeling back then – knowing who she was and what she thought of him.

"Don't look so sad," he said, "Things turned out just fine, didn't they?"

"I said some really cruel things to you," she whispered, on the verge of issuing another apology, but unable to find the right words. "And I made jokes about the massacre – offensive and mean jokes."

To her surprise, he laughed. "Truthfully, Sakura," he said, "I found those jokes refreshing. And funny."

She cast her eyes down to the floor, not quite able to meet his gaze yet.

"You have no idea how much I wanted to tell you the truth," he said, "The night you discovered the cure. We were talking about Sasuke and I thought about all the mistakes I made with him. And then you asked me why I did it, why I murdered everyone. It broke my heart to have to lie to you. You were just starting to see me as a man instead of a monster."

She remembered that conversation well because he had scared the shit out of her afterwards. But now wasn't the time to dwell on any of that.

"We can talk about this later," she said, taking his hand in hers and squeezing it. She didn't want him to think that she was avoiding the subject. "I need to go see Tsunade-sama."

"Okay."

.

"Sakura," Tsunade said, "You brought Itachi with you."

"We just finished up his last healing session, shishou," Sakura answered, "He's officially cleared for duty."

Tsunade's eyes flicked back and forth between the two of them. "Good," she finally said, "He can leave for his mission today."

"Today?" Sakura asked, startled.

Tsunade looked at her sharply. "And I have another mission for you as well," she said, ignoring Sakura's question. "Suna is working on developing a poison and they requested the help of our resident poisons expert."

Sakura bit her lip and glanced over at Itachi. He would be leaving today? How long would he be gone?

"The Kazekage was quite adamant that you be the one to come," Tsunade continued, sensing that Sakura was only half paying attention. "After all, you did save his brother's life."

"Why do they need my help?" she asked, "Why are they even developing a poison?"

"Gaara wants a poison he can infuse into his sand," Tsunade answered, "But he obviously does not want to poison himself. According to the request, the first stages of development are finished and they're looking for a way to infuse it into the sand and keep Gaara from being infected by the poison."

Sakura tapped her lips with her fingertips. That seemed easy enough.

"You will leave within the next couple of days, but there is no rush," Tsunade said, "And Shikamaru will be going with you."

Sakura nodded.

"And Itachi," Tsunade said, shifting her attention to the Uchiha, "I understand if you do not feel ready to take a mission yet, especially the one I'm about to assign as it pertains to Akatsuki."

Sakura tensed up. She resisted the urge to grab Itachi's hand and hold it.

"But before you can do it, we need to discuss what you know about Akatsuki," Tsunade said.

"I am ready to take missions again, Hokage-sama," he said, his voice far more formal that Sakura was used to hearing it. "As for Akatsuki, I'm not sure if they are still looking for me. If the mission requires a run-in with them, perhaps someone less conspicuous would be a better choice."

Tsunade's eyes connected with Sakura's. "You're dismissed, Sakura," she said.

"But—"

"Go."

Sakura gave one final glance to Itachi who did not look at her before she left, letting the door slam shut behind her.

.

"Suna, huh?" Ino asked. Sakura had come home, unsurprised to find Ino in her living room. "Gaara's pretty hot."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "If I marry the Kazekage I'll have to move to Suna."

"Who said anything about _marriage_?" Ino asked indignantly.

"Don't be crass, Ino," Sakura said.

Ino crossed her arms over her chest and kicked her feet up onto Sakura's coffee table. "All I'm saying," she said, "is that you're finally over Sasuke and you need to get laid. I mean you haven't even kissed anyone before, have you?"

Sakura blushed and pressed her lips together. She wanted to tell Ino about her kiss with Itachi, but Ino had a notoriously big mouth and she wasn't sure that it was a good idea. And it seemed that she had forgotten about her little crush on the elder Uchiha.

"But the Kazekage?" Sakura asked, "That has to be crossing some sort of line, doesn't it?"

"That's what makes it so hot!" the blonde exclaimed, "He's the _Kazekage_."

"I think you're getting a little ahead of yourself, Ino. I'm supposed to be on a professional mission, not seducing the Kazekage."

"Yeah, you're right," Ino said, "You wouldn't even know where to begin anyway. Seduction is serious business. You don't have the chops for it."

That was probably true.

"But he's good-looking and he specifically requested you," she continued, "So I think you should at least flirt with him a little bit. What could it hurt?"

"He specifically requested me because he knows I'm good with poisons," Sakura pointed out, "And if there had to be another reason – which there doesn't – he also is quite fond of Naruto and knows I'm his teammate. And I also saved his brother."

"See?" Ino said, "Look at that list! A little flirting would be good for the both of you. It would help you get your mind off that damn Uchiha family. Not to mention, most girls are probably too scared of Gaara to flirt with him. I'm sure even a guy like him needs some feminine attention once in a while."

"Uhh," Sakura said, "I'm pretty sure Gaara has a fan club. Girls love him now that he's the Kazekage."

"Well, no one of your caliber," Ino pointed out.

Sakura grinned at the compliment.

"Quit being silly," she said, "I won't be flirting with Gaara on my mission. I have to be professional."

"Fine," Ino conceded, "But when you get back I'm going to take you out and we're going to find you somebody to practice flirting with."

Sakura rolled her eyes because she didn't feel like she needed practice flirting. In fact, she thought she would be quite good at it. Especially where Itachi was concerned. She already knew some of the things he liked – batting her eyelashes, tossing her hair over her shoulder so he would catch its scent. He even liked her jokes, offensive as they were.

"I'm going to raid your closet and find your best outfit," Ino said, already charging toward the bedroom in spite of Sakura's weak protests.

"I need to see what I'm working with!" she called from the bedroom.

Resigned to letting Ino do her thing, Sakura followed her into the bedroom and changed into her pajamas – an oversized shirt of Naruto's that she had nicked during a mission.

"Mm, those are some sexy legs, Sakura," Ino said, still riffling through her closet, "We'll have to find an outfit that showcases them since you don't have much to work with in the chest department."

Sakura had a retort poised on her tongue when she heard a knock at her front door. Ino paused, a red blouse hanging from her extended hand.

"Who could that be at this hour?" she asked.

"It's probably Naruto," Sakura answered. "Door's open!" she called out. It had been a while since Naruto had come over. Ever since Sasuke had returned the two had been spending a lot of time together. She wasn't jealous, she found, though she thought she should be. She was happy that the two had worked out whatever had been happening between them before Sasuke left.

But she'd be lying to herself if she thought she didn't miss Naruto. He was one of her best friends, and she was excited to see him.

But her smile faltered a bit when she bounded back into her living room and found that it was not Naruto who had knocked, but Itachi. She should have known better. Naruto never knocked. Or used the front door.

He was standing in her living room, looking quite out of place. The room seemed much smaller with him standing in it. His gaze lingered on her exposed legs in a way that sent heat straight down into her belly.

"Itachi," she greeted, a little more breathless than she would have preferred.

"Sakura," he said, his eyes moving from her legs to her face, "I apologize for coming over unannounced. I didn't know you'd be… indecent."

Her ears burned. "I thought you were Naruto," she said.

He didn't answer. She watched his gaze dip below the hemline of her shirt again, this time for only a second before he was looking back at her face again.

"Okay, Sakura, you don't have much to work with, but I think this dress will have to do. If you wear a push-up bra under it it will make your breasts look fucking huge. That's probably why you bought it, huh?" Ino spewed, walking around the corner with a black sequined dress hooked on her pointer finger.

Sakura grunted and narrowed her eyes. Like this wasn't already embarrassing enough.

"Oh, Itachi-san," Ino said, a look of pure shock on her face. As if just remembering that Sakura had a crush on the elder Uchiha, and that he happened to be standing in her living room at an inappropriate hour of the night, Ino's eyes widened and a slow grin spread across her lips.

"Yamanaka-san," he greeted politely. If he was surprised to see her there he didn't show it.

"Are you hurt, Itachi?" Sakura asked, concerned that he might have shown up here with an injury that he would only entrust _his_ medic to heal.

"No," he answered, "I'm leaving tonight to go on my mission."

"What mission?"

"You know I can't tell you that."

Sakura crossed her arms and pouted. She was curious, naturally, but she was also worried. She knew his mission had something to do with Akatsuki, and even though Itachi was one of the best ninja in the village (and also used to be _in_ Akatsuki), she still felt concerned for him.

But maybe she could pry something out of him. She whipped her head around to glare at Ino who immediately put her hands up defensively.

"Alright, alright, I'm leaving," she said, making her way to the door. "And Sakura," she added, turning back to look at her, "Don't forget what I said about Gaara." With a wink, she was gone.

Once she was gone, Itachi tilted his head to one side and gave Sakura a curious look. "The Kazekage?" he asked.

"Where are you going, Itachi?" she asked, ignoring his question, "Can you at least tell me that?"

He gave her a reproachful look. She took a step closer to him, close enough that he would be able to smell the shampoo he seemed so fond of. Close enough that he could reach out and touch her if he wanted to.

"Please tell me," she said, batting her eyelashes flirtatiously.

Lightning quick, his hand shot out and gripped her arm just above her elbow, almost too tightly for comfort. "That's a dirty trick, Sakura," he said, his voice low and warning. This was the Itachi she knew from Toyeiki, and this time she wasn't afraid of him. She wondered if she had affected him like this even back then.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, moving even closer so that their bodies nearly touched. "I'm just worried, that's all. I don't want anything to happen to you."

He closed the gap between them, using his hand against her back to press her against him. "I came here to tell you goodbye. I don't know how long I will be gone," he said.

"You aren't going off to fight Akatsuki by yourself, are you?" she asked, her voice muffled by his shoulder.

"No," he said, rubbing her back between her shoulder blades, "Naruto will be with me."

She shoved him away. "What?"

"Naruto and I are taking this mission together," he answered, looking somewhat chagrinned, "Just me and him."

"Where is he?"

"He's with Sasuke right now."

Sakura frowned. "And that's why you're here?" she asked.

"I'm here because I wanted to see you," he said, his expression somber and serious. But then it softened into something more tender. And then a smile cracked his features, small but warm. "I didn't think I'd get to see so much of you."

She blushed, but otherwise ignored the comment. "It sounds dangerous."

"You don't need to worry."

"But what if you don't come back?"

"I will come back."

Sakura crossed her arms in petulance and glared up at him. He was a fool to think she would not worry, not just about him but Naruto as well. And if he didn't come back, she would hold Tsunade responsible.

"I like that you're worried about me," he said, coming closer to her again.

"Why?" she demanded, stepping just out of his reach, "You enjoy seeing me suffer?"

"Of course not," he said, his gaze drifting down to her legs again, "It's just nice to think that _when_ I come home that you'll be here, happy to see me."

"I'd be happier if you just stayed here."

"I can't do that."

She turned her back toward him angrily, but not necessarily because of him. It didn't seem quite fair. Itachi had done such much for Konoha, sacrificed his chance at a happy life, and bore the burden of Konoha's hate on his shoulder for half his life. And now that same village was sending him off on a mission that was surely going to end in his death.

How could one man fight Akatsuki?

"Sakura."

"What?"

He placed his hand on her shoulder, but did not move her. "I'm sure you've realized that I really enjoy your company."

She swallowed and turned halfway toward him.

"When I get back," he began, "I'd like to take you on a date."

She turned to face him all the way. She pressed her palm to his chest and then let it slide down his abdomen and settle on his hip. She felt his breath hitch. When she looked up at him through her lashes she saw that his eyes had darkened and were focused on her sharply.

"But what if you don't come back?"

He caught her chin between his thumb and forefinger and tilted her face up to his. "I'm going to come back," he said and he pressed a chaste kiss to her lips. "And so will Naruto. I know there is no point in telling you not to worry, but I will do everything in my power to get us both safely back here. I will do that for you, okay?"

"For me?"

"And for the village," he said, but then he smirked. "But mostly for you."

"Please be safe, Itachi," she said quietly.

"I will."

Feeling emboldened, both by the way he had stared at her legs and the fact that he had kissed her tenderly, Sakura stood up on her toes and pressed a kiss just under his ear where his jaw met his neck.

He sighed raggedly and tangled his fingers in her hair. He pulled her toward his mouth, but she resisted.

"You can kiss me again when you come back," she said, smirking.

"I'll hold you to that."


	24. Chapter 24

Itachi had been homesick for eight long years. When he fell asleep at night, wrapped in a bedroll with the shark-nin to his left, it was Konoha that he dreamed about.

This was a different kind of homesickness he felt now, and when he fell asleep tucked soundly in his bedroll with the kyuubi jinchuuriki to his left, it was Sakura that he dreamed about.

They had only just left the village a few days ago. They were not yet out of Fire country's borders. But he thought about the pink-haired medic far more often than he cared to admit.

He ascribed the blame for that to his under-used hormones. He hadn't even kissed anyone until Sakura, and she had awoken a plethora of feelings and _urges_ that he was finding harder and harder to resist. Their heated kiss on the training grounds had certainly not been beneficial to his focus on the mission. He hardly thought of anything else.

And when he was thinking of something else, it was the way her long, lean legs looked poking out of that horrid orange shirt. It had covered most of her, the best parts of her. But there was something about the fact that he knew she wasn't wearing shorts underneath that made his eye twitch.

In fact, he knew that she did. She had even fluttered her eyelashes at him to get him to spill his mission to her. It was a nasty trick, one that might have worked if she kept trying. He knew that _she_ knew the affect she had on him, and that wasn't entirely fair.

In retrospect, that was his own fault. She had no way of knowing that he would show up at her door while she was wearing nothing but a horrid orange shirt. A shirt that he recognized on Naruto the first night they were out of the village. His was newer, less worn out, and fit him much better than it had fit Sakura. But Sakura looked much better in it.

He wondered if she would look just as good in one of _his_ shirts. Would the midnight blue color complement her features? What would the Uchiha crest look like across her back?

He absolutely planned on finding out. He had already set things in motion by asking her on a date. She had not given him an actual answer, but he could see in the way that she looked at him, the way she worried about him, that she wanted to.

All he needed to do was come home.

Which brought his focus back to the mission, where it should have been all along. Beside him Naruto snored loudly and rolled over, smacking his lips in an almost comical fashion.

They were on their way to Rain, heading for Akatsuki's base. The plan was to pretend that he was still loyal to Akatsuki and 'deliver' the kyuubi to Pein as was his assigned mission. Once they were inside, Itachi and Naruto would stealthily take out as many Akatsuki members as they could and then finish off the rest, if possible.

It was certainly risky, but Itachi felt comfortable enough in his skill that he could take out at least Hidan, Kakuzu, and Deidara. Konan and Kisame would pose a bit of a problem because he didn't necessarily want to them dead.

He was also positive that not all of the members would be there. They had missions and such to go on. It was rare for all of them to be there at the same time. With any luck, Kisame would be gone. Konan, though, rarely left. And Itachi didn't think he'd be able to take on Pein. Maybe with Naruto's help.

Itachi glanced at the blonde boy with healthy skepticism. When they had been given their orders, Naruto had asked that Tenzo come along as well. Itachi hadn't known why at the time, but the first night they left he had asked him.

"His wood release can help me control the kyuubi," Naruto had answered, "If I start to lose control things can get out of hand. Stakes aren't incredibly high this time, though, because the only person around I wouldn't want to hurt is you. And I'm pretty sure you can hold your own."

Itachi had been the one to tell him that it wasn't wise to bring Tenzo along. They wouldn't be able to walk into Rain with him. It would raise suspicion.

What Naruto didn't know was that Itachi could help him control the kyuubi, too. Itachi remembered all too well how the Uchiha had been blamed when the nine-tails attacked the village. It was their gift and their curse that they could use the Sharingan to control the kyuubi.

Now, though, it was a gift. If Naruto could awaken the kyuubi and use its power, its chakra to help destroy Akatsuki, then the mission would go a lot more smoothly. Itachi had met Naruto in battle several times before and not been too impressed. He had been young, of course, but Itachi had been only four when he fought in the war. Youth was no excuse.

But he had also seen Naruto grow as a fighter, become stronger and smarter. He was aware that Naruto had trained under Jiraiya, a sannin and a man Itachi wouldn't have wanted to go up against.

Naruto had raw strength and power. Itachi was cunning and capable. Together, they would be able to take down Akatsuki. There was no other option.

.

"Sasuke was pretty bummed that he couldn't come on this mission," Naruto said. They had awoken bright and early, still a few days out from Rain. The journey itself wasn't particularly dangerous, but the closer they got to Fire's border, the more nervous Itachi became.

"You told him about this mission?" Itachi asked, his tone sharp and reprimanding.

"Well, yeah," Naruto said. Itachi shook his head. "I tell Sasuke everything."

Itachi had noticed that. His brother, anti-social as he was, seemed to really enjoy the blonde's company. They spent much of their time together, training and taking joint missions. Itachi had nothing against Naruto. His heart was in the right place and he seemed… nice. But he wasn't quite as agreeable as Sakura and, if Itachi was brutally honest, he found Naruto somewhat annoying.

"Why would Sasuke have wanted to come?" Itachi asked, "He has no interest in Akatsuki."

"No, it's not that," Naruto said, "He just wanted to be a part of your first official mission back in the village."

Itachi felt his lips quirk up in a smile. He remembered how Sasuke had always begged to go on missions with him when they had been younger. He remembered the mission with the boar and how determined Sasuke had been to prove his skill.

He would have to remember to request a mission with Sasuke when he got back to Konoha.

"And he seemed pretty pissed that _I_ got to go instead of him," Naruto continued.

"You spend a lot of time with my brother."

"And you spend a lot of time with Sakura," Naruto snapped.

Itachi's foot connected with the branch in front of him before he launched himself back into the air, speeding forward. He glanced to his left where Naruto was running alongside him. The blonde had an angry scowl on his face, his head turned down.

"It was only an observation," Itachi said, "There is no need to be defensive."

"I'm not defensive."

Itachi didn't argue because that certainly wouldn't get him anywhere. He had been curious about their relationship, how close they were and what they meant to each other. It didn't particularly matter to him, as long as Sasuke was happy. He had wanted to ask his brother about it, but it didn't seem appropriate and he was likely to get angry.

So instead, Itachi watched and observed. He had noticed that Naruto usually came to the Uchiha compound. Rarely did the two of them meet at Naruto's apartment. He came over at least three or four times a week, usually bringing food with him. When they weren't at the compound, they were at the training grounds, getting ramen, or off on a mission.

He also noticed that tenseness that would be in the air whenever Itachi entered a room they were alone in.

"Why _do_ you spend so much time with Sakura?" Naruto asked, his voice more accusatory than Itachi cared for.

"Why do you spend so much time with Sasuke?"

Itachi was amused to see Naruto glowering, a faint blush on his whiskered cheeks.

"Sakura and I both have a vested interest in Yamato and Sachi," Itachi said, answering Naruto's question even though he didn't expect the blonde to reciprocate. "We forged a bond when we were in Toyeiki. I find her company pleasant."

Naruto gave him a skeptical glance.

"And she's very pretty," Itachi said as an afterthought.

Naruto faltered a bit, but kept up with Itachi as they ran through the trees. "Yeah, she's pretty," Naruto said after a beat of silence.

Itachi didn't press Naruto for more information about his relationship with Sasuke, even though he felt he had earned it by sharing some about his relationship with Sakura. If Naruto – or Sasuke – ever wanted to talk about it, they would.

"Sasuke doesn't like it, you know," Naruto said, breaking the amicable silence that had fallen between them.

"Doesn't like what?"

"Whatever is going on with you and Sakura," the blonde answered, "I know he doesn't like Sakura like that, but he is jealous that her attention is on you now. He won't admit it, but I think he really enjoyed her affection. It was kind of cruel, actually. He's possessive of her, but he doesn't want to be with her."

Itachi kept his eyes forward as they ran. He didn't know what to think of that.

"And he's also jealous that your attention is on her instead of him."

That much Itachi had gathered on his own.

"Sasuke would be furious if he knew I said all this to you."

"It will be our secret, then," Itachi said, the barest hint of a smile on his face.

Naruto grinned back. They fell into comfortable silence again.

Itachi couldn't get his mind off of Sasuke. If what Naruto said was true, then Sasuke had gotten angry with Sakura out of jealousy. Itachi tried to imagine what it would feel like to be in Sasuke's place. If Sasuke had been interested in Izumi, would he have felt jealous?

He didn't know. It was possible, he supposed, but he didn't feel jealous just thinking about it. But he _had_ felt jealous when he thought Sakura was interested in Sasuke still. And it had been unpleasant.

Would Sasuke approve of a relationship between them? Did he want her to be alone forever? Or was it specifically the thought of the two of them together that irked him so much?

"Um, Itachi," Naruto asked timidly, "What exactly are your intentions with Sakura?"

Itachi looked at him in surprise.

"It's just that she's been through so much with Sasuke," Naruto continued, withering a little under Itachi's gaze. "She was really depressed when he left and she's very… fragile. She's like a sister to me. I don't want her to get hurt again."

Itachi gave him a sidelong glance. "I have no intention of hurting her."

Naruto seemed to accept that answer. Itachi came to a stop on a low branch. Naruto stopped beside him, his head cocked to the side.

"Let's stop here for the night," Itachi said, "Rain is just up ahead. Tomorrow we will infiltrate Akatsuki's base."

Naruto nodded.

.

"I don't think so," Naruto said. His sass reminded Itachi of Sakura.

"It's either the shackles or I sling you over my back," Itachi insisted.

"Oh, come on," Naruto said, "Can't you just walked menacingly behind me or something?"

"That could work," Itachi said.

Naruto sighed appreciatively and grinned.

"If you wear the shackles."

Naruto's grin morphed into a frown. They both knew that Naruto couldn't just walk into Rain with his arms swinging and a skip in his step. This had to look convincing.

"Alright, fine," Naruto conceded, "I'll wear the shackles."

Begrudgingly, Naruto allowed Itachi to place chakra-enhanced shackles around his wrists. Once they were inside Rain, it would only be a matter of minutes before Pein was made aware of their presence. From Pein's perspective, it would be too risky to keep Naruto around. They wouldn't be able to control him. They would likely have to leave immediately to take him to the Gedo statue to extract the kyuubi.

But if Itachi could convince them that he could control Naruto with his Sharingan, then he might wait one night for Akatsuki to either recharge or make it back to Rain if they weren't already there. Itachi and Naruto could use that valuable time to strike.

With Naruto in front, he and Itachi walked through Rain's streets. Itachi had once again donned his Akatsuki cloak and straw hat. It felt strange to be wearing them again, but it also felt somewhat comforting. He felt a little bit more in his element.

Naruto's curious gaze swept across Rain's skyline, his neck craning to see the tops of the skyscrapers. It had been years since an outsider had stepped foot in Rain, and the city stared back at Naruto, also curious about the stranger.

Though most of Rain's citizens shied away from the ominous red and black clouds when they saw them, he noticed that their curiosity about Naruto was stronger than that fear.

"Keep your head down, Naruto," Itachi said, his voice low so passersby could not hear. "You need to look like a prisoner, not a tourist."

Itachi watched Naruto duck his head down obediently. They had only a couple of blocks to go before they would reach Rain's headquarters – the highest building in the city.

Rain poured down from the sky, drenching the both of them. Itachi was used to it, but Naruto looked uncomfortable. He shivered against the chill in the air. Were he not supposed to be Itachi's prisoner, he would have offered his cloak to the poor boy.

The weather in Rain had its advantages and disadvantages, but Itachi had always wondered why the gloomy city was Pein's choice for a headquarters. It seemed ill suited for Konan, whose specialty was paper jutsus. Personally, Itachi liked the rain. He even liked the city with its tall towers and bright lights.

He almost missed it, if he thought about it hard enough. It wasn't Konoha, but it had become like a second home to him nonetheless.

He even felt a pang of something akin to familiarity when they reached Akatsuki's headquarters and were greeted by Konan. The blue haired kunoichi didn't usually greet Itachi when he came back from missions, but given the circumstances, he understood why she had this time.

"Itachi," she said, and he noted that she did not attach a formality to his name like she usually did. "Welcome back."

He was not intimidated by the coolness in her tone. He might have been if things were different, but knowing that he could not let her leave here with her life put him more at ease. It was a contradiction, true enough, because he didn't want to hurt her. She had been nothing but pleasant to him during his time in Akatsuki.

But it had to be done. And he'd done much worse.

"I see you've brought us the nine-tails," she said, eyeing the shackles that bound Naruto's wrists. "You have been missing for a long time, and now I see why."

It was certainly curious that he had been gone so long with no mention of where he was going. He had not taken Kisame with him. There had been no reports of Akatsuki sightings anywhere except Toyeiki, the last place Itachi had allowed himself to be seen.

It was suspicious that Itachi had been able to somehow infiltrate Konoha and capture it's jinchuuriki without notice.

But Konan made no mention of it. She didn't even give him a skeptical glance. Her gaze was neutral, not even curious.

"In your absence," she began, her tone devoid of emotion or even inflection, "We captured and extracted the other biju. All except the eight-tails."

Itachi was surprised. If they had not captured the eight-tails yet, then they would not be able to extract the nine-tails without breaking the Gedo statue. That meant that Itachi would not have to convince anyone to hold Naruto prisoner for a little while longer. They would have no choice.

"And even if we had captured the eight-tails," Konan continued, "Pein is in no condition to summon the Gedo statue right now."

Another surprise, but Itachi didn't let it show on his face. What could Pein have been doing to put himself in such a 'condition?'

Konan's gaze settled on Naruto, eyeing him up and down. It made Itachi nervous, but Naruto played the part incredibly well, likely because he was not acting. His eyes had turned red, a telltale sign that the kyuubi was surfacing. A look of rage marred his features. His whiskers were more prominent. His brow was low over his eyes.

Naruto said nothing, but that was probably to his credit. If Naruto was actually losing control, provocation from Konan would only make it worse.

"Itachi," Konan said, her eyes never straying from Naruto, "How were you able to capture him like this? His chakra is quite ominous."

"My Sharingan," he answered, but offered no more of an explanation.

"I see."

An orange tail had sprouted from Naruto's back, and glowing orbs of menacing chakra had started to form around him. It seemed that his anger had been pushed pretty far. It was good that this button was so easy to press on Naruto. It would make this process easier.

But now was not the time.

Itachi activated his Sharingan and grabbed onto Naruto's shoulder. The blonde whipped his head around and the moment his eyes connected with Itachi's, he was entranced.

Itachi had never done this before. He'd only been vaguely aware of how this process even worked. It was somewhat well known that the Sharingan was able to control the kyuubi. But the _how_ was a different story.

Now that he thought of it, they should have practiced this beforehand…

Somewhere between Naruto's mind and the kyuubi's, Itachi stood facing the great fox demon. The sheer amount of chakra rolling off of him was terrifying, but Itachi was not afraid.

"So," said the booming voice of the demon, "An Uchiha again."

Itachi was suddenly aware of Naruto's presence next to him. He felt the blonde bristling, confusion and anger rolling off of him in waves.

"The last time I encountered Sharingan they belonged to Madara Uchiha," the kyuubi thundered.

Itachi's curiosity was piqued, but this was not the time or place for such a conversation. He only needed to calm Naruto down.

"Enough," Itachi said. The illusion was shattered instantly, the kyuubi seeming to explode into a thousand pieces. The roiling chakra that clouded Naruto's mind dissipated. Once again, Naruto and Itachi stood before Konan. Naruto fell to his knees. With great relief, Itachi noted that his eyes were blue once again and the glow of orange around him had faded.

Konan's eyes had widened and her mouth was set in a hard line. She looked as though she had something to say, but Itachi would not try to coax it out of her.

Itachi reached down to Naruto's wrists and yanked him upwards by the shackles roughly. Naruto winced and sent a glare back toward Itachi. Back on his feet, Naruto stood face to face with Konan.

"It is regrettable, boy—"," Konan said to Naruto.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki."

"It is regrettable, _Naruto Uzumaki_ ," she repeated, "That you have to die. Just know that your life will not have been wasted."

Itachi was unaware of Akatsuki's true goals, so he couldn't ponder about the validity of that statement. Regardless, he had no intention of letting Naruto die – if only for Sakura's sake. She wouldn't forgive him if he let her best friend die.

"Take him to cell block C," Konan instructed, "And stay close by in case we need your Sharingan again."

Konan was gone in a flutter of swirling squares of paper.

"You don't have to be so rough, you know," Naruto said, straining against his chakra cuffs.

Itachi shushed him.

.

With as little fuss as possible, Itachi led Naruto to cell block C and locked him inside. Though he knew that Naruto would not try to escape, he wouldn't have been able to anyway. The cell bars were reinforced with chakra, and the shackles around Naruto's wrists had been replaced with ones that continually drained his chakra levels.

Itachi planned to return to Naruto's cell in the middle of the night to remove the shackles so that when the time came, Naruto would have plenty of chakra. Not that lack of chakra would have been much of a hindrance to him anyway, judging by the massive reserves of it he had noticed in the kyuubi.

It was a wonder that a boy like Naruto had that beast inside him.

But Itachi wasn't thinking about Naruto. He methodically perused the halls of the Akastuki headquarters in an attempt to figure out who was and was not present. He knew Konan was there and could sense her in her quarters.

Much to his relief, he did not find Kisame anywhere. In spite of their differences in worldviews, Itachi had grown fond of the shark-nin and would have been reluctant to kill him. He hoped that if things went well on this mission that Kisame would forget about Akatsuki and find something less sordid to do with his life.

Hidan was somewhere in the building, Itachi sensed, as was Deidara. Itachi was not concerned about them. He already knew he could best Deidara, and even though he had nothing personal against him, Itachi had no problem getting rid of the explosives expert. Hidan, though immortal in his freakish religion, could easily be incapacitated by Itachi's Tsukuyomi until his mind succumbed to the genjutsu. He may not physically have been able to die, but being brain dead was just as good.

What concerned Itachi the most was the presence of Pein. Itachi had been kept in the dark about most of Akatsuki's proceedings. Pein himself was rarely seen by its members, but even so, everyone was acutely aware of the raw power that he had. The Rinnegan.

Itachi had concerns about the fact that Pein wielded the Rinnegan. He suspected that it had something to do with Madara, which was a terrifying notion.

He had expressed his concerns about fighting Pein to Tsunade, who had been so adamant that Naruto could handle it. Itachi was understandably skeptical. Naruto was young, and though he didn't lack talent as a shinobi, he lacked experience. Tsunade had waved off Itachi's concerns and sent them on their way to handle it – just the two of them.

Itachi couldn't help but feel like he had essentially just delivered Naruto into Akatsuki's hands with little to no fuss. What if they couldn't do it? What if Itachi was killed? Who could protect Naruto and by extension Konoha?

On a darker and much more familiar note, Itachi briefly entertained the idea of killing Naruto, should things come to that. He didn't want to hurt the spirited boy, but he couldn't let Akatsuki get their hands on him either. If it came to that, Itachi wouldn't hesitate to do it. He had, after all, done much worse.

But he hoped it wouldn't come to that.

.

Late in the evening, Itachi stirred in his bed. It had been quite some time since he had slept in his old room and he couldn't say he had missed it much. Sleep had eluded him, as he figured it would. Naruto, still down in his cell, was probably unable to sleep as well.

Carefully, silently, Itachi crept down to Naruto's cell. He had thought carefully about it and decided that it was best if the two of them stick together. As a duo, they could take out Hidan first, then Deidara, then Konan, and finally Pein.

Unsurprisingly, Naruto was awake, his wide, blue eyes nearly glowing in the darkness around him. He approached the cell bars apprehensively, but with a fierce energy that Itachi hoped could be used to strengthen him in the next several hours. They were going to need it.

"Are you ready?" Itachi whispered, opening the gate for him. Naruto dutifully nodded and held out his wrists for Itachi to unlock. Itachi swiftly removed the shackles, pretending not to notice the red marks on the boy's wrist. He had tried to remove them himself, either in an astonishingly bright display of authenticity, or out of frustration. Itachi didn't need to know which it was.

"Let's go."


	25. Chapter 25

The trip to Suna had been surprisingly pleasant. Shikamaru, the official ambassador of Konoha, had accompanied Sakura and though she found herself often exasperated with his behavior, he had been more chipper than usual.

She knew why, of course. It was no secret that the poor Nara boy had a thing for Temari. Personally, Sakura thought she was quite scary, but then again, all of the sand siblings were.

So, predictably, when the leaf duo had arrived at the Kazekage's palace, Sakura was left alone while Shikamaru and Temari sneaked off to do whatever it is they did with each other. Sakura suspected a lot of angry, sexually charged staring.

"You'll have to forgive my sister's rudeness," the Kazekage said, giving her a slight bow. He was a far cry from the boy who nearly killed her during the chuunin exams. Several months before his rescue from Akatsuki, Team 7 had paid a visit to Suna during which Gaara had apologized profusely.

Naruto had insisted that no apology was necessary, but Sakura felt that maybe she deserved one. He had, after all, almost killed her. But she did forgive him, because he seemed truly sorry. It was apparent to everyone that he had changed a lot just in the time between the chuunin exams and his rise to Suna's coveted leadership position.

"Only if you forgive Shikamaru's," Sakura replied with a grin.

Gaara smiled back tensely, and regarded her with a curiosity that Sakura wasn't too comfortable with. She wondered what he could have been thinking behind those startlingly bright eyes.

Flushed and flustered, Sakura fiddled with the hem of her vest and cast her eyes away from him. "If it's alright with you, Kazekage-sama," she began, "I'd like to get started with your poison immediately."

He gestured broadly toward the medical wing of the palace and she dutifully trotted after him. Absently and unconcernedly, Sakura noted a few grains of sand that clung to her wrist. She also noticed the ones that hovered around the opening of Gaara's gourd.

"I figured you would have liked to rest first," Gaara said as they walked, "The trip may not be very long, but the sun can be exhausting."

She shrugged and then belatedly realized that he could not see her. "I just need to be doing something," she said, "I don't think I could sit still right now if I wanted to."

She didn't tell him the reason for that, and he didn't ask. He opened the door leading to a laboratory, one she had been in once before when she extracted poison from his brother.

"All of the notes on the poison are on the desk," Gaara said, standing in the doorway, but not entering the room. Sakura slid past him and snatched the top file from the desk. Flipping through it she perused the characteristics and properties of the poison. "And there is a small sample of my sand in a jar. If you need more do not hesitate to ask."

Sakura nodded and then turned back to face him. He was watching her and this time his smile was more genuine.

"You are a friend of Naruto's," he said, and Sakura's heart clenched painfully. She didn't want to think about Naruto or what he was currently doing. "So you are a friend of mine. Thank you for agreeing to help. I know that you do important work in Konoha, so we appreciate you taking the time to do this."

"Of course, Kazekage-sama," she answered, her voice a little more timid than she would have liked. "I'm happy to help."

"You may call me Gaara."

"Gaara-sama," she said with a dip of her head.

He gave her a critical look, but left her alone, shutting the door gently as he left.

.

Sakura spent the next several days working in Gaara's lab. The work distracted her from thinking about Naruto and Itachi, and when she wasn't working she was sleeping off the exhaustion. Working for nearly twelve hours everyday certainly wasn't healthy, and as a medic, she knew that. But it made the time pass quickly and it brought her close to solution in a short manner of time.

Gaara hadn't been surprised by the speed with which she'd come up with a way to fully integrate the poison into his sand. It appeared that he had expected that from her. She was irritated by his high expectations, but she had met them so she couldn't be too concerned about it.

Unfortunately, the next step in the process required Sakura to spend a fair amount of time with the young Kazekage. Usually, this would not have been a problem, but Sakura found it difficult to keep her mind off of what Ino had said to her the night before she left.

Gaara was a handsome man – Sakura wasn't afraid to admit that. She had noticed the fangirls that tended to flock around him when he was outside the palace. She found it amusing, quite frankly, to see the typically stoic man flustered by some feminine attention. She figured he would have been used to it at this point.

But he spurned all of their advances. In a spurt of boldness, Sakura asked him why.

"I'm their Kazekage," he had answered. "It wouldn't be proper. And I have no interest in any of them."

It was to her chagrin that he mentioned propriety while she was standing behind his half naked body. It was purely professional, of course, because Sakura was always professional. She had pierced him with a litany of poisoned needles on his broad, muscular back, testing to see how his body reacted to certain ingredients, certain venoms and poisons.

She couldn't help but notice the way his body reacted to _other_ things. With each graze of her fingertip over the needle-caused pockmarks he would shiver, sometimes even shrink away from her.

Gaara was an untouchable man. She wondered how many other people had touched the bare skin of his back before. Perhaps he wasn't so fond of her touching him like this.

"Really?" Sakura asked, doing her best to keep her tone light, like she _wasn't_ asking him deeply personal questions. "Not a single one of them has caught your eye?"

"My attention has been elsewhere, Sakura-san," he answered tersely.

Sakura kept her mouth shut after that. Throughout the remainder of his appointments with her, he maintained a cordial, but distant friendliness that Sakura was grateful for and annoyed with in the same vein.

Ino had told her to flirt with him, to have some fun. And instead, she had offended him with personal questions and a jab at his not-so-wandering eye.

So she focused in her mission – who needed to flirt with hot kages when there were perfectly good men back at home? But that thought was equally disparaging. It had been nearly a week since Naruto and Itachi had left for their mission. They could be back in Konoha for all she knew. Unlikely.

"Is something bothering you, Sakura-san?" Gaara asked. She had just injected him with a serum that would grant him immunity to the poison. The only thing left to do now was wait and see how his sand reacted to it.

She caught his eye and then quickly looked away. Often she found him staring openly at her, always critically and somewhat curiously. Like he didn't know what to make of her.

"I'm just homesick, that's all."

His eyes narrowed. He didn't believe her.

"I apologize if your stay here has not been hospitable."

Sakura thought briefly about Shikamaru and Temari and what they had been doing this whole time. She hadn't seen either of them since the day they arrived.

"It isn't that," she said, though she knew that he knew that, "One of my friends is on a dangerous mission right now. I'm just worried."

He didn't seem placated by her words, but Sakura didn't want to share any more information. She knew their mission was classified and telling the Kazekage about it – even though Suna was Konoha's ally – would be treason. She didn't really know enough to tell him anything anyway.

But she certainly couldn't tell him that Naruto was on the mission. She had no doubt that he would drop whatever he was doing to come to Naruto's aid, and that would definitely implicate her.

"I see," was his only response.

Sakura went back to studying his sand, watching for any reaction to the poison. She then checked Gaara's vitals to make sure that the poison was not affecting him in any way.

He watched her throughout this process, his eyes piercing and unsettling. Her hands were on his chest and though she was a medic and had done this to hundreds of people, the position reminded her of Itachi. Even the way he looked at her reminded her of Itachi.

She was just about to tell him that she was finished and that her job here was done when she heard him clear his throat.

"I heard that Sasuke is back in Konoha," he said.

She blinked. "Yes, that's true," she answered, curious as to why he would think about such a thing.

"And his brother, too."

She swallowed. "Also true."

"I don't like Sasuke," Gaara said, and the animosity in his voice surprised her, as did his frankness about his feelings. "And if his brother is anything like him then I don't like him either."

Sakura didn't feel that this was an entirely appropriate topic of discussion, but since he had been the one to bring it up, she didn't try to dissuade him from it. They had hardly spoken at all in the week they'd been working together and now he was offering conversation of his own volition.

"I'm sure you'll be surprised to hear that I'm not Sasuke's biggest fan, either," she answered.

He quirked a nonexistent brow. She was supposed to be in love with him. And even if she wasn't, he was still her teammate and her friend.

"Sasuke and I do not see eye to eye on a lot of things," she said, "I don't hate him, but I wouldn't go out of my way to spend time with him."

Gaara smiled, a charming and boyish smirk that helped Sakura remember exactly why he had so many admirers. She suddenly realized that her hands were still pressed to his chest and that she was standing between his legs. As nonchalantly as she could manage, she dropped her hands to her sides and backed away from him.

"Then we agree," he said, unfazed by their proximity and her aversion to it. "But for Naruto's sake, I am happy that he is back."

Sakura grinned, "Yeah, me too."

The room fell silent and Sakura wanted to take the opportunity to tell Gaara that they were finished in Suna and should head back to Konoha soon, but something in the way he was regarding her made her stop.

"I think you would like his brother."

She didn't know why _that_ was the particular thing she had chosen to blurt out. She could have said any number of non-incriminating things. The silence had overwhelmed her, especially with the way he watched her like she was a puzzle he wanted to solve.

"What?"

Nervously, she rubbed the back of her neck. "Sasuke's brother," she said, "They're nothing alike. Itachi is a lot more… well, I just think you would like him."

"Do _you_ like him?"

She flushed, but she understood that his inflection wasn't accusatory. "Yes," she answered, "He's a good friend."

"Well, then" he said, "Seeing as we appear to have similar taste in friends, I'm sure I would like him, too."

Neither of them said anything about Itachi's past, the crimes he'd committed, or the fact that he was still listed in the Bingo book. Sakura offered no explanation for it because she didn't know if that was something that Tsunade would want her to do. That was private Konoha business.

But Gaara didn't need to know the details. If anyone could understand something like that without really knowing, it was Gaara.

"Alright, Gaara-sama, I think we're finished up here," she said, "Your vitals look good and the poison is now working in conjunction with your sand."

He stood up and hefted his gourd onto his shoulder. "And you've got the antidote for the poison?" he asked. She nodded, gesturing to a crate of vials near his feet. The poison and the antidote had already been created by the time she got there, so she didn't know why he would have asked her that.

Until she felt his sand begin to cover the length of her right arm. Sakura tensed up in fear because she knew exactly what Gaara was capable of doing with his sand. She had witnessed the destruction of Lee's bones, the lengthy process of healing it took for him to recover.

The sand swirled around her arm, abrasive and course. She could feel the cuts forming under the layer of sand and she knew that when the sand was moved, there would be blood there.

And there was. When Gaara pulled his sand back into the gourd, Sakura's arm was covered in shallow cuts, blood forming along the broken skin, but not falling. Not dripping.

And then she felt the effects of the poison – a slow, burning sensation that tightened in her chest and made it difficult to breathe. Her vision began to blur and bile was thick in the back of her throat. Her head was swimming.

She lurched forward, nearly falling onto her face, but Gaara's hands steadied her. She felt him jab a needle into her arm as he guided her into the seat that he had just occupied.

"You could have warned me," she rasped.

When she looked at him he was smiling again and any anger she might have felt ebbed away.

"You did a fantastic job, Sakura-san," he said. "Thank you."

She smiled back weakly.

.

Sakura was disappointed when she returned to Konoha and Naruto and Itachi had not yet returned. It was to be expected, she supposed, because she had been gone just over a week. Most missions lasted longer than that, especially ones pertaining to crazed terrorist groups.

Life proceeded as normal for the next few days. She took her shifts at the hospital, picked up Yamato from the academy, and spent time with Ino. She did whatever she could to keep her mind off Naruto and Itachi.

After a particularly light day at the hospital, Sakura came home to a surprisingly empty home. Sakura suspected that she had a date or something other equally pressing event to attend because Ino's makeup was scattered haphazardly across her living room floor. Ino had always chosen to doll herself up at Sakura's apartment because it was "centrally-located" and much closer to all the things Ino ever wanted to do.

Sakura had no complaint with this, except now she was slightly annoyed by the mess and the fact that she had not been invited to the event in question.

She had thought far too much about Naruto and Itachi today, wallowed in her own misery. There wasn't much to keep her distracted now. She had half a mind to go to Tsunade and demand answers, but she knew that would get her nowhere.

Her heart leapt into her throat when she heard a knock at her door. Deciding not to get her hopes up (it could have been Ino), she threw the door open with nonchalance.

But she was surprised to see Sasuke on her doorstep.

"Sasuke-kun."

He looked much less annoyed than usual, but a lot more somber. Sakura realized that if anyone could relate to what she was feeling now, it was him.

"Can I come in?"

She nodded and pulled the door open wider for him. With a measure of distaste, he surveyed the mess on the floor.

"Ino made the mess," she explained.

He regarded her coolly with curiosity and something else.

She rolled her eyes because there wasn't much else she could do and indicated that he should take a seat at her kitchen table. "Let me make you some tea," she said.

When the tea had been brewed and they were sitting across from one another somewhat awkwardly, but with a pleasant calmness and familiarity, Sasuke took a hesitant sip from his mug.

"Peppermint," he said, "Itachi's favorite."

Sakura knew this. It was the kind he made for her. The kind he drank when they were in Toyeiki.

"Are you worried about him?" she asked.

His eyes bore into her. "Are you?"

She nodded, unperturbed by his hostile tone. She expected it from him.

"Do you know anything about their mission?" she asked.

He regarded her skeptically as if he thought that maybe he shouldn't tell her what he knew. Or maybe she knew more than he did and he didn't want her to know that either.

"I know it has something to do with Akatsuki," he answered.

"That's all I know, too."

The sipped their tea in tandem, both unsure of what to say and a little bit uneasy in each other's presence. But the silence wasn't uncomfortable, and even though Sakura didn't want to admit it, she was grateful that he had come by – either seeking solace from her, or wishing to give it to her.

They were, after all, both a part of Team 7. They should be able to be near one another without the weirdness.

"What are you doing with my brother?"

Sakura sucked in a breath because she had been anticipating such a question and unsure of how to answer it.

"It has nothing to do with you," she said, "If that's the answer you're looking for."

"I find that hard to believe."

She set her mug down. "No offense, Sasuke," she said, dropping the suffix from his name. "But you were gone for years. You don't know me anymore. And the Sakura that you knew all those years ago is gone."

"Right," he said, setting down his mug as well, "And this new Sakura just happens to be interested in my brother."

"Why does that bother you so much?"

"It doesn't _bother_ me—"

"Then what do you want?" she demanded, "Would you like it if I never speak to him again?"

He didn't answer and Sakura had a sneaking suspicion that that was exactly what he wanted. For a moment he looked conflicted, like there was something else he wanted to say.

"I know I haven't known him for very long," she said, "And I know that he is your brother. I know what that looks like to you. But surely I don't need to tell you why I like him so much. If anyone should understand, it's you."

"You like him," Sasuke said. It didn't sound like a question.

"Of course I do," she answered, "He's a good man. He's done so much for Konoha and for you. And he…"

She trailed off because she couldn't really find the right words and it seemed too intimate to be sharing with Sasuke – feelings that she hadn't quite worked out for herself yet.

"He deserves to be happy," she finished.

Sasuke stared at her from across the table.

"Do you love me?" he asked.

She paused, unsure of what she'd just heard. He raised his brow, waiting for her answer. She felt a lump form in her throat.

"I care about you," she said, "And I want you to be happy."

"But do you love me?"

"I suppose I do."

He sighed, his eyes never leaving hers. "He sees something in you that I don't see," he said, "And it makes me angry."

"What?"

"I feel like I'm missing something when I look at you," he continued, "What is it that he sees that I don't? Why does he like you so much?"

Sakura felt a stab of both pain and pleasure at those words – that Itachi liked her _so much_ and that Sasuke couldn't see why. She should have been offended. But instead she laughed.

"Maybe you're just feeling residually annoyed with me from our genin days," she suggested with a chuckle.

Sasuke didn't seem amused.

"Look, Sasuke," she said, "You don't have to worry about my intentions with Itachi. I don't want to hurt him, and I don't think of him as a substitute for you. I'm long over that crush I had on you years ago."

He scoffed, but didn't argue.

"Besides," she continued, " _He_ was the one who started it."

Sasuke's expression softened and to Sakura's amusement and relief, he seemed to believe her. He even cracked a small smile.

"I miss him," she said wistfully, "And Naruto."

"I miss them, too."

There it was. The reason he had come here. Sasuke had only confronted her about her relationship with Itachi that one time before the Danzo fiasco. Since then he had avoided her. Or she had avoided him. It didn't matter.

But the issue seemed to be behind them now and they could finally commiserate and miss their boys together.

"Do you think they'll be okay?" she asked.

He glared at her. "Of course they'll be okay," he snapped, "If it was you out there on that mission I'd be worried."

His tone wasn't light or teasing, and Sakura was well aware that he thought her skills as a ninja were subpar. But she laughed nonetheless, because he was right.

"It wasn't a joke," he said.

"Aww," she cooed, "You'd be worried about me for real?"

He rolled his eyes. "I'm not heartless, Sakura," he said, "I didn't leave the village to hurt your feelings. I didn't reject you because I wanted to upset you."

"I know, Sasuke."

It was as close as she would get to an apology from him. Not that she really wanted one. But it was still nice to hear those words from him.

Again they settled into silence, sipping their tea and enjoying company that they'd been denied since Naruto and Itachi left.

"We talked about you, you know," Sakura said after a moment. "In Toyeiki. Before I knew the truth about him. It was clear even then that he loved you and cared about you. It was one of the reasons I suspected something was amiss."

She watched Sasuke's eyes widen almost imperceptively. He was curious, but he didn't ask her anything so she didn't offer any more information.

"He asked me once why I was so mean to you," Sasuke replied, "And I told him that you were annoying."

She smiled in response to that, amused. She would never be as close to Sasuke as Naruto was, but she was beginning to understand the teasing quality of their friendship. It may not have started out that way, but for the first time since his return, Sakura felt that she and Sasuke could actually be friends.

"He disagreed," Sasuke said with a slight smirk.

"I'm sure he found me annoying when we first met," Sakura countered, "I certainly didn't make things easy on him."

"Meaning…?"

"I provoked him," she answered, "I was openly hostile in spite of our agreement. I made dark and offensive jokes about the massacre."

Sasuke blinked in response.

"I didn't know any better," she said in defense, "But I apologized to him. He didn't seem too upset, even back then. I'm sure he understood why I acted that way."

Sasuke grunted. Sakura smiled. He took another sip of his tea and she took another sip of hers. And when Sakura went to sleep that night, her thoughts were a little less turbulent and she was a little less worried.

.

Sakura woke in the middle of the night to the sounds of sharp banging against her bedroom window. Immediately on alert, she flung off her covers and unlatched the window.

"Naruto?" she gasped. He was panting and she could see the wildness, the redness in his eyes – the kyuubi that had not yet died down after being provoked. He looked badly beaten up, but in stable condition.

But slung across his back, limp and drenched in blood, was Itachi. She stifled a cry that nearly ripped its way out of her throat and opened the window wider for him to enter.

Carefully, Naruto set him down on her bed. It looked bad. He was haggard and pale, and blood seemed to be seeping through his clothes everywhere.

"Help me strip him," she commanded, immediately in medic mode. Naruto complied and then watched as she ran her chakra through him. He was unresponsive, but she could feel his heartbeat very faintly.

With her chakra, she detected several large wounds in his chest and abdomen that were open and actively bleeding.

"Naruto," she said, "Go get towels from the bathroom to staunch the bleeding."

With further investigation she found his left arm broken and several of his ribs fractured. He had a contusion on the back of his head and a streak of blood coming from his right eye.

Naruto returned with the towel and began to press them into Itachi's wounds.

"Is he going to be okay?" Naruto asked. She spared a glance for him and saw that he had calmed down somewhat. The menacing chakra of the kyuubi had subsided and his eyes had returned to their usual blue.

"I'm going to do what I can to stabilize his condition," Sakura said, "But then we need to get him to the hospital."

Naruto nodded and continued to watch as she pumped her healing chakra into him. Sakura felt a stab of annoyance at the blonde. He should have taken Itachi straight to the hospital. She knew it was his confidence in her ability that brought him here instead, but the hospital was much better equipped to deal with such injuries. She only hoped that what she had here would be enough.

Never once did Sakura let the fear in her chest show on her face. She stuffed it down, pushed it aside and let only the medic in her show. His life was in her hands yet again and she wasn't going to let him die on her bed.


	26. Chapter 26

Itachi hissed, feeling sharp and dull pain in every part of his body. His head was throbbing, his chest felt like it was on fire, and he couldn't open his eyes. He groaned and attempted to pull himself up into a sitting position, but a pair of hands on his shoulders gently pushed him back down.

"You're awake."

"Sasuke?" Itachi rasped. He must be back in Konoha. He couldn't remember much of what happened. The mission, he supposed it had been unsuccessful. The last thing he remembered was fighting Pein. An impossible battle he had been destined to lose.

"It's me," Sasuke replied. Itachi attempted to pull off the bandages around his eyes, but Sasuke stopped him. "Don't. Your eyes need time to heal if you ever want to use them again."

"Where's Naruto?"

"He's fine," Sasuke said, and Itachi detected a hint of smugness in his tone.

"The mission…"

He heard Sasuke huff out a breath of air. "The mission went as well as could be expected, according to Naruto," he answered, "He said you killed three Akatsuki members with ease. It was the fourth one that left you in this condition."

Itachi relaxed a little. He was not surprised. He had been hesitant to go up against Pein in the first place.

"But Naruto handled that for you," Sasuke said, the smugness quite obvious now.

"I don't remember," Itachi said. He felt Sasuke press a cool glass into his hand. Greedily, he drank it. Water. It was soothing down the tenderness in his throat. He felt it pool in his stomach, cold and heavy.

"Sakura said you have a pretty severe head injury," Sasuke said, "You're lucky it didn't kill you."

"She is my medic?" he asked.

Sasuke scoffed. "She _was._ "

The sentence alarmed him, but Sasuke's tone was light, almost teasing. He didn't ask about Sakura again.

"How long have I been out?"

"Three days."

He tried to sit up again. Sasuke pressed him back down to the mattress.

"Don't," he warned, "I'll get Tsunade if I have to."

Obediently, Itachi rested his head back against the pillow behind him. His throat felt raw and his muscles ached. He wanted to stretch out all of his muscles, but his exhaustion was overwhelming.

His stomach growled loudly and Itachi groaned because even though he was hungry he was also nauseous.

"Let me get you something to eat," Sasuke said. Itachi didn't argue. He heard his brother leave the room and then minutes later; he came back, this time with company.

"Itachi," Tsunade said. "Good to see you awake. You had us pretty worried there for a while."

Sasuke set a tray across Itachi's lap. With the bandages over his eyes he couldn't see what was on it, but he felt its warmth against his legs.

"We'll get a nurse in here to feed you in a minute," Tsunade continued, "But first I want to check your vitals and make sure everything's good."

"Hokage-sama," Itachi said, his voice still raspy and labored, "Not that I don't feel privileged to be in your care, but surely you have more important things to do."

Tsunade laughed sardonically and then pressed her hands against his chest. "Sakura and I had to compromise," she explained, "I wouldn't let her be your primary medic and she didn't trust anyone other than me to do it."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm the best."

"No, I mean why wouldn't you let her be my medic?" he asked, but when she snickered he realized that she had been teasing him.

"I'm sure if you think on that a little harder you'll figure out the answer," she replied.

"Tsunade-sama," Sasuke said, "About his eyes. Now that he's awake you can run some more tests, right? To see how they are?"

Itachi felt her chakra, very similar to Sakura's, pooling in his heart and lungs. After a moment, she removed her hands and he heard her scribbling things down on his chart.

"That's really Sakura's area of expertise," Tsunade said, "So I'll let her handle that. She's doing rounds right now, but I'll send her down to take a look when she's finished. In the meantime, Itachi needs to eat and then rest some more."

"What about his pain?" Sasuke asked, "Can you give him something for that?"

"I'm fine, Sasuke," Itachi said, though it was hardly convincing as he winced.

"There's not much I can do right now for his pain," she replied, "But he'll be fine. We'll keep a close eye on him for the rest of the day and if he looks good by evening he can go home."

Itachi felt relief he didn't know he needed. Truthfully, he did not enjoy being in the hospital (who did?) and he missed his own bed.

"I trust you can keep an eye on him at home, Sasuke?" Tsunade asked, "And Itachi, within the next week I'd like a mission report. I won't demand it of you while you're recovering, but I'll need it eventually."

He heard the sharp click of her heels on the tiled floor as she walked back to the door, and then their pause as she stood in the doorway. "And good job, Itachi," she said, "You and Naruto make a good team."

.

When the nurse arrived to feed him his lunch (nothing more substantial than soup), Itachi had demanded that Sasuke leave the room. It was humiliating not being able to feed himself. He felt extremely vulnerable in a way that he had not felt in years.

But Sasuke, stubborn as he was, refused to leave. In fact, his brother seemed to be in a more talkative mood than normal and chatted with him – or rather, _to_ him – as the nurse fed him spoonsful of miso soup.

Begrudgingly, he was grateful that his brother had stayed. It saved him from a potentially awkward silence with the poor nurse relegated to feeding him. And his brother's company was pleasant. He had missed him.

It was with carefully hidden surprise that Itachi noted that Sasuke mentioned Sakura several times during his chatter. Each time it was in passing, but each time it did not contain any of the hostility he had come to expect.

He wished he could see his brother's face so he could gauge his expressions.

When his soup had been finished and another glass of water had been downed, the nurse silently picked up his tray and left. No sooner than the door had clicked shut behind her, a sharp knock came from the other side.

Without waiting for a reply, the door opened.

"Itachi-san," Sakura said. Itachi felt a smile pulled at the corners of his mouth. "Let's take a look at your eyes."

She was in medic mode, he figured as he listened to the click of her shoes as she approached. And with Sasuke's presence, she was bound to be colder toward him than she might normally have been.

But then he felt her brush away hair from his forehead, her knuckles grazing tenderly against his scalp. It was affectionate and not in any way clinical. He froze, unsure of how to respond to such a gesture with Sasuke there. He wanted to take her hand and kiss it, or say something. But he had no words and he couldn't kiss her. Not with Sasuke there.

"We were so worried about you," she said, and he could hear from her tone that she was smiling. Her fingertips landed on his temples and he felt her chakra in his head, in his eyes. It was a jarring sensation, but he trusted her.

"We?"

"Me and Sasuke," she replied. But he couldn't focus on her words anymore as the sensation of her chakra became overwhelming. For years, his eyes had been strained and hurting. His vision had been reduced to a blur without his Sharingan activated, which is why he chose to have it on for most of his exile.

But that pain was slowly ebbing away now, and he felt light-headed and nauseous again. Like taking a deep breath after nearly drowning.

Instinctively, his hands lashed out and gripped her wrists and attempted to pull them away from his temple. She wrenched her arms free and placed her hands back at his temples.

"I'm sorry, Itachi-san," she said, "I know this must be uncomfortable for you, but I need to do this before I take your bandages off. Your eyes were in terrible condition, even before you left. I should have taken a look at them sooner."

He let out a ragged breath and relaxed.

"He'll still be able to use them, though, right?" Sasuke asked.

"Yes, I fixed most of the damage," she replied, "His vision should be infinitely better than it was before. I imagine he suffered from migraines a lot, too, but that should stop now."

Itachi fidgeted under her touch. It felt so _nice_ and so strange at the same time. Her chakra felt foreign and dangerous inside his head and even though he knew she was helping him, he couldn't help but want to shove her away.

"However," she continued, "Using the Mangekyou will always result in damage. I can reverse the effects, but only to a certain extent. I routinely work on Kakashi-sensei's eye after his missions, so we'll have to work out a similar deal with Itachi-san."

He felt her pull away from him and her chakra dropped from his mind like it had never been there at all. His headache was gone and his eyes felt… well he couldn't feel them. There was no pain there at all anymore.

"I'll do the same for you when you awaken your Mangekyou, Sasuke-kun," she said.

Itachi heard his brother grunt in what he hoped was appreciation. Then he felt Sakura unwrapping the bandages from his head.

"Turn off the lights, Sasuke-kun," she instructed, "He'll be sensitive to light."

She pulled the bandages off completely, but covered his eyes with the palm of her hand. "Keep your Sharingan off, Itachi-san," she said, "You can open your eyes when you're ready."

Slowly, he blinked his eyes open. Even with the lights off, the room felt impossibly bright. He blinked rapidly a few times, attempting to clear the blurriness that resulted from having his eyes closed for three whole days.

And then Sasuke came into focus beside him. Itachi gasped at the sharpness with which he saw him, even stronger than when his Sharingan was activated. He could see the pores on Sasuke's face, the individual strands of hair that had fallen across his forehead, even the swirls of grey that were mixed in with his coal black eyes.

"Once your eyes have adjusted to the room you may test out your Sharingan," Sakura said. She was standing at the foot of his bed and his eyes snapped over to her at the sound of her voice.

She was leaning her palms against the frame of his bed, grinning at him as he watched her. He didn't remember her hair being so vivid or her eyes being so bright. He wished she was closer so he could see more of her – her pores, her lashes, whatever shades were mixed in with that startling green.

Curious, he let his eyes bleed to red and surveyed the new sharpness in the room. Never had his vision ever been this clear before, even when his Mangekyou was still new. He could even see the hum of chakra in Sasuke and Sakura.

He furrowed his brow, overwhelmed. He cast a furtive glance at Sakura and was surprised to find her looking right into his eyes. It may have only been because of the nature of the situation, but it made his heart clench in his chest that she would look into his Sharingan in spite of her fear of it.

"Well?" Sasuke asked.

With his energy and spirit restored, Itachi pulled himself up into a seated position. "I don't know what to say," he said, "I've never seen so clearly before."

Sasuke grinned triumphantly and looked every bit like the little boy he'd known before he left the village.

"Alright," Sakura said with a hand on her cocked hip, "Visiting hours are over."

"What?" Sasuke snapped, "It's just past noon—"

"Out, out," she said, ushering him to the door. Itachi watched with bemusement as she shoved him into the hallway. He glared wickedly at her, but didn't put up too much of a fight.

"Don't get him all excited, Sakura," he said. She slammed the door in his face. "He needs to recuperate!" he yelled through the door.

Itachi felt his cheeks flush hotly. What could have made Sasuke say a thing like that? He didn't have time to think about it because as soon as the door was shut she launched herself into him. He winced as he caught her, holding her against his chest in spite of the flares of pain in his abdomen.

"You almost died, you idiot," she said, her voice muffled by his collarbone.

He breathed in her vanilla scent, smoothing down the hair on the back of her head. "I'm sorry," he said. Her hip and thigh were pressed against his right side as she sat beside him. Her upper body was thrown across his, her arms linked behind his neck. The position was infuriatingly intimate.

He felt her body trembling and then he heard a sniffle.

"Are you crying?"

She pulled away from him, brushing the tears from under her eyes. Her eyes were glassy and bright and her face was red.

"No," she said quite unconvincingly.

His heart was thudding in his chest. He'd never seen a worried expression like that on her face before, and he hated that he had caused it. It broke his heart. He placed his hand on the back of her neck and pulled her down into a kiss. She had promised him this – a kiss when he returned.

He felt her attempt to pull away from him first, reluctant, maybe even angry with him for nearly dying.

But almost instantly she relaxed in his arms, sinking further into him, pressing herself against him. He tangled his hands in her hair tightly, preventing her from pulling away.

"I'm sorry, Sakura," he said when they finally broke apart.

"Yeah, you should be," she said sassily. "You have no idea how worried I was about you."

He scoffed. "That won't be the last mission I go on, Sakura," he pointed out, "But hopefully from here on out they won't involve Akatsuki."

She moved to stand up but Itachi yanked her back down to the bed. She twisted her arm free from his grasp and glared at him.

"I would never have let you go if I had known what you were doing," she said, rubbing her wrist like he had hurt her.

He laughed and the action hurt the muscles in his stomach. He winced and curled slightly into the pain, clutching at his stomach. Sakura dutifully placed her hands on his chest.

"Let me?" he asked, still amused, "I didn't know I needed your permission, Sakura-sama."

Her chakra was soothing and calmed the dull ache in his stomach and ribs – starkly juxtaposed by the harsh anger on her face.

"Would you have let me go?" she demanded.

"I wouldn't have stopped you."

It was Sakura's turn to scoff. "That's ridiculous," she said, "You wouldn't even let me handle Kabuto on my own. There's no way you would have let me march off to assassinate Akatsuki members."

"I _did_ let you handle Kabuto," he argued.

"No, you stayed to spy on me."

"Not because I didn't think you could handle it," he countered, "I had other business with Kabuto."

She rolled her eyes.

"Besides," he continued, more gently this time, "We were enemies then."

Her gaze softened somewhat, but there was still something in her eyes that made Itachi curious. She reached out and interlaced their fingers. He squeezed her hand and let his head fall back against the headboard.

He hadn't expected her to be angry with him when he returned. He felt that her anger was misplaced. He hadn't done anything wrong. But he understood. How would he have felt if he had been in her position? It would have been harder than the actual mission – waiting for her to return, not knowing if she would even come back.

"I'll leave so you can get some rest," she said.

"Stay," he said, gripping her hand tighter, "I missed you."

"I missed you, too."

He shifted over on the bed to make room for her and patted the space beside him. She smiled, but shook her head.

"It's frowned upon for medics to get into beds with their patients."

He smiled back. "I hear it's also frowned upon to kiss them," he teased. "Besides, I'm not your patient."

Needing no further convincing, Sakura climbed into the bed and curled herself up against him. Her nearness made his stomach flip. He lifted his arm so that she could settle against him, resting her head on his chest. His heart was out of control.

"Do I make you nervous?" she teased, brushing the pad of her thumb across the racing pulse in his neck.

"Nervous isn't the right word," he answered, catching her hand and holding it against his chest.

She hummed and he felt the vibration in his chest. He had never done this before – whatever _this_ was. He had never shared a bed with anyone, at least not like this. Not with anyone pressed so intimately against him. Even though nothing about what they were doing was sexual, Itachi's heart rate was skyrocketing and a pleasant warmth spread in his chest.

Sakura seemed quite content with their current arrangement and was curled into him like a cat. She sighed and he marveled at the way she seemed to melt into him. He wished he could fold himself into her, to just hold her and never let go.

"You owe me a date," she said.

"Yes, I do," he answered.

She stretched out her body and he felt all of the pops and cracks in her bones. He looked down at her and noticed for the first time how haggard she looked. She was paler than usual and dark swathes of purple marred skin beneath her eyes.

But she was beautiful nonetheless and for a moment he was too stunned to speak, having never really seen her up close with this much clarity before. Her lashes were still wet from when she had been crying and the dampness made them cling together and appear much darker than he remembered them to be.

Hesitantly, he reached over and brushed his fingertip along the ends of her lashes. She flinched, but didn't move away from his touch.

"How about I pick you up tonight at your apartment?"

"Tonight?" she squealed. "What makes you think you'll be out of the hospital by then?"

"I'm not sleeping here."

"Fine," she conceded, "But you still should be resting tonight."

"If you say so."

.

Sakura hadn't stayed for long, much to Itachi's displeasure. She had work to do and it would not have been good for anyone to catch them together in his bed.

He contemplated leaving right then and heading straight back to the Uchiha compound. Aside from a general ache and exhaustion, Itachi felt fine and just wanted to be home.

But shortly after Sakura left, Sasuke returned. He carried a bag with him that he tossed into Itachi's lap.

"Change of clothes and stuff," he explained. "I figured you'd want to get out of that hospital gown."

"Thank you."

Sasuke pulled up the chair near Itachi's bed and spun it around, sitting on it backwards with his legs straddling its back.

"Naruto told me about your fight with Pein," Sasuke said, "He said he couldn't have done it without you. That you were really impressive."

"I'm sorry, Sasuke," Itachi said, "I don't remember it very well."

"I know. I'm not looking for more details," he said. "When you're feeling better, I want you to teach me your techniques."

"Oh."

"Oh? That's all you have to say?"

"I'm happy to teach you, Sasuke," Itachi said, "But I was using Mangekyou."

"I know that, too," he said. "But still. There is a lot I can learn from you."

"Alright," Itachi said, "I'll teach you what I can."

Truthfully, Itachi was conflicted about Sasuke's future training. He knew his brother was strong – he had defeated Orochimaru, after all. It seemed that the natural progression of things would be for him to gain Mangekyou. Sasuke had been through enough already, hadn't he? Why should he have to suffer even more to unlock what should have rightfully been his already?

In Itachi's original plan, his death would have awakened Sasuke's Mangekyou. What could unlock it now? His death, still, he supposed. As well as Naruto's. Possibly even Sakura's. He didn't know.

And he didn't have any urge to find out.

Sensing Itachi's discomfort, Sasuke quickly changed the subject.

"So, you and Sakura, huh?"

"Pardon?"

"Oh, come on," Sasuke said with a smirk, "It's obvious there's something going on with you two. You're not evening bothering to hide it. She just kicked me out of here so she could make out with you, didn't she?"

Itachi felt the tips of his ears burning. "We didn't make out."

Sasuke gave him a skeptical look.

"I thought you didn't approve of her," Itachi ventured.

"Not her," he said, "The two of you. But I've had a change of heart."

"Oh?"

"When you and Naruto were gone, she was the only person who could really understand what I was feeling," he explained. "She was just as worried about you as I was."

Itachi hadn't ever suspected that the two would bond over their shared worry for him. He had gone on for so many years with no one worrying about him it all. It was strange to think that their mutual concern for him brought them closer together.

"And the night you returned she sent a courier to come get me in the middle of the night," he continued, "She didn't have to do that. She was busy trying to save your life and she still thought to summon me so that I could be there, too."

"I thought she wasn't my medic."

"Naruto's dumb ass brought you to her apartment instead of the hospital."

"Oh."

"And then when Tsunade practically forced her to take her hands off of you, she demanded that Tsunade be the one to take care of you. She wouldn't let any of the nurses touch you," Sasuke said.

Itachi didn't know what to say.

"We took turns staying with you," Sasuke said, "So that you wouldn't be alone when you woke up."

"She didn't mention any of that."

"Then what did you talk about?"

Itachi's eyebrow twitched and he shifted closer to the middle of the bed.

"Or were you busy doing something else?"

Itachi sent a glare in his brother's direction. When Sakura teased him it was charming and endearing. When Sasuke did it, it was just annoying.

"She was angry with me."

"What for?"

"Almost dying."

Sasuke laughed. "Yeah, well, she's worked pretty hard to keep you alive. What, three times now she's saved your life?"

"I feel like I should do something nice for her," Itachi said.

"Get her a thank you card."

"Yeah, that should make things even."

Sasuke cocked his head to the side and a wry smile twisted up his lips. "You don't need to make things even. Sakura isn't a complicated person. She'll accept any sign of affection, no matter how small."

Itachi didn't want to think about how Sasuke knew that, but he couldn't help but ask. "You know from experience?"

"That's not surprising, is it?" Sasuke asked, "We're teammates."

"I don't understand why you dislike her so much," Itachi confessed, "I don't find her annoying at all."

"And I don't understand what it is that you see in her," Sasuke answered, "But I'm beginning to. She's changed since I left Konoha. She's still annoying, though."

Itachi sent him a reproachful look.

"Oh come on, you know she is," he said, "She's so… _sassy_."

Itachi smiled. "She reminds me of mom."

Sasuke fell silent. Maybe he didn't agree, or maybe he hadn't thought about their mother in a while. Either way, Itachi regretted the words. They hadn't ever discussed the massacre after Itachi used his Sharingan to show him the truth. Everything Sasuke needed to know had been shown to him.

But maybe they should talk about it. Maybe remembering the Uchiha clan together wouldn't be as painful as Itachi anticipated.

For all the pain and suffering Itachi had felt having to murder his own family – the look on his parents' faces, being the one to strike that blow – he couldn't fathom the pain that Sasuke must have felt, thinking that his brother, a man he loved and admired, could do something so heinous. Out of hate, nonetheless.

It was still a miracle, in Itachi's opinion, that Sasuke didn't appear to harbor any lingering hatred for him for what he had done.

"I suppose I can see it," Sasuke said, breaking Itachi out of his reverie. "They could both be quite stern sometimes."

Itachi smiled, but it was weak.

"And I don't remember mom being so sassy," Sasuke said, grimacing.

But then his smile got stronger.


	27. Chapter 27

Sakura had gone back to Itachi's room after her shift had ended only to find that he had already left. She had suspected that he would leave, and that was probably best for him. He wouldn't have wanted to spend the night in the hospital again. But Sakura almost wished that he had stayed so that she could see him again.

When she arrived back home, her apartment was mercifully empty. Not that Sakura didn't enjoy Ino's company, but tonight she wanted to get some work done.

She changed into her comfiest pajamas and settled down onto her couch with some empty journals and several medical scrolls. Tonight she was going to attempt to come up with her own offensive medical jutsu.

It had been ages since Kabuto had proffered her the chance to learn from him, and even though she never would have considered such a thing, she found herself daydreaming often about what she might have learned from him.

She had a few ideas spinning around in her head. The one she had chosen to start with was the creation of chakra senbon. It wasn't necessarily medical in nature, but it would be a start to get her creative juices flowing. If she could create chakra scalpels, why not senbon, too?

The problem she ran into was how to dispel and throw the chakra senbon like it was an actual senbon. She set out scribbling in her journals, testing ideas on paper.

She didn't know how long she sat crouched over her scrolls before she heard a knock at her door. Ino, she suspected, looking for her makeup. After Itachi's impromptu healing session in her bedroom, Sakura had moved Ino's makeup aside to lay her blankets on the floor. She couldn't sleep in her room again until the blood had been cleaned up. She'd probably need another mattress.

"Come in."

The door opened up, and instead of Ino, it was Itachi standing there. Sakura was less surprised this time, and assumed that from now on she would have to get used to him showing up at her apartment.

His arms were filled with grocery sacks and even though the pallor of his skin was still in the 'too pale' range, he looked happy.

Sakura cocked her head with bemusement, still buried underneath her scrolls on the couch.

"Oh," he said when he saw her, "You look busy."

"Just a little project I'm working on," she said, pushing her books aside and rising to greet him. "What's in the bags?"

She helped him into the kitchen, taking a few bags from his arms and setting them on the counter. When his arms were free, he paused and looked over her with painful scrutiny.

As if just remembering that she was in pajamas – and not flattering ones – Sakura blushed and tugged at the hemline of her oversized sweatshirt. Fortunately, she had chosen to put on shorts underneath it, but Itachi probably didn't know that.

"I want to make you dinner," he said.

"Dinner?"

He took a step closer to her and brushed a lock of her hair away from her face. "Yes," he answered, "You said I had to rest, but I wanted to do something for you."

She smiled and looked down at her feet. "That's sweet, Itachi. Thank you."

"I should have warned you, I guess," he said with a grin, "I see you're in the habit of not wearing pants when you're at home."

She scoffed indignantly. "I have shorts on under here."

He grinned even wider. "I don't believe you."

She swatted him playfully and turned her back to him. "You'll have to take my word for it. I'm going to go change."

"No, don't," he said.

She eyed him reproachfully, but made no move to leave.

"You keep working on your thing and I'll make you dinner," he said, "Just pretend I'm not even here."

She didn't even begin to know how to argue with that. If he wanted to make her dinner, she certainly wasn't going to complain. He definitely should have been at home resting instead, but cooking wasn't anything too strenuous and she was here in case anything were to happen to him.

So she let him get to work in the kitchen while she went back to her scrolls. Not surprisingly, Sakura found it difficult to concentrate on what she should have been doing knowing that Itachi was in the next room. She couldn't get over the fact that instead of being home with Sasuke that he chose to be here with her instead. He had just returned from an extremely dangerous mission where he'd almost gotten himself killed. And now he was casually making her dinner as if that was a totally normal thing for him to be doing.

It almost felt like they were back in Toyeiki and any minute now she would have to wake Yamato and Sachi and take them down to eat. She almost wished that they were here, too.

But then the thought made her blush. Fantasizing about playing house with Itachi was a step further than she was willing to be right now.

She turned her attention back to her scrolls, pondering over ways to dispel chakra from her body – a much safer topic. Time went by much faster while she worked, and by the time Itachi had come back into the living room, Sakura almost had it.

"Dinner's ready, Sakura," he said.

"Hold on just a second," she said, scribbling a few more notes down before setting her journal aside and smiling warmly at him.

The impressive spread on her kitchen table looked inviting, steam rising from the plethora of dishes. The sheer amount of food was staggering.

"Do we have more dinner guests coming?" she asked teasingly.

"I've been out for days and all I've had since I woke up is some soup," he replied.

She smiled playfully as she took her seat. "It looks amazing, Itachi. Thank you." She didn't even realize how ravenous she was until the enticing smells wafted over to her. She tucked into the food without much ceremony, stuffing her face like _she_ was the one who had barely eaten in days.

Itachi, who had admitted that he was starving, ate his food with much more grace and elegance, every bit the aristocratic clan head that he was meant to be.

"Tell me about the project you're working on," he said between bites.

She swallowed the bite of food in her mouth had the decency to look a little ashamed of the way she'd been eating. But she found the amused look Itachi was giving her encouraging.

"I'm developing a chakra senbon," she answered, "One that can be either thrown as if it were physical, or pushed out of the body with chakra."

"Like your chakra scalpels?"

"Exactly," she said, "The problem is that once the chakra is dispelled from the body, it no longer retains its shape. At least, to a certain degree. Senbons have to be sharp and precise, so it will take some work. I've got a long way to go."

"Your chakra control must be incredible," he said, and Sakura felt her heart swell with pride at the tone of admiration in his voice. "If you are successful, do you think you'll be able to create even bigger chakra weapons eventually? Like daggers or katanas?"

"I haven't really thought that far ahead, yet," she admitted, "But that does sound like a good idea."

"How will you make the senbon retain its shape after it's been ejected?"

"I don't know yet," she said, "I'm going to have to use trial and error to figure it out, I suppose."

"Do you know how much of your chakra it will consume to use it?"

"Not very much," she answered, taking another bite of her food. "I imagine the bigger the weapon, the more chakra I will need. Senbon shouldn't require much."

"Can you poison them like you would a regular senbon?"

Sakura hadn't thought of that before. Granted, she hadn't been working on the jutsu for very long. "Before Kabuto's biological warfare disease, I'd never seen chakra infected with anything before. I'll have to play around with it and see what I can do. I may be able to use what I learned in Toyeiki in conjunction with the chakra senbon. I also found a way to infuse Gaara's sand with poison, so maybe that technique could be useful, too."

"Oh, yeah," Itachi said, "How did your mission go?"

"It went smoothly," she answered, "Gaara-sama was quite pleased with my work. Truthfully, I spent most of my mission worried about yours."

"I'm sorry."

Sakura laughed. "You are not. You said you liked that I worried about you."

He smiled a half smile. "I was looking forward to seeing your reaction when I returned."

"My relief, you mean?"

He nodded.

"I was anything but relieved when you returned."

"I'm sorry for scaring you."

Sakura wanted to roll her eyes, but she didn't. "Do you want to see what I had to deal with when you came back?"

Itachi's brow furrowed dramatically and he paused. "You mean with my Sharingan? I thought—"

"What? No," she replied. "Come with me."

She led him to her bedroom and threw the door open. Carefully, she watched his face as he surveyed the damage. She really should have cleaned it up by now, but she had spent most of her time at the hospital, either working or sitting by his side. She hadn't really had time to clean up the mess.

And, oh, it was a mess. There was a clear trail of blood from the window to her bed, seeping into the wood. More blood than a human should probably lose at one time. Her mattress was soaked through, and piles of bloody rags and towels were scattered across the floor.

Itachi's mouth was set in a grim line as she watched his eyes scan the room. He let his eyes settle on her face.

"Where have you been sleeping?"

"The couch."

A pained expression flashed across his face. But when it disappeared, the look he fixed her with was one of sadness and pity. Sakura felt a stab of guilt and then anger. Guilt because it wasn't his fault that this happened. He had only been doing his duty. He got hurt and that wasn't something she should be upset with him about. And anger because she didn't need or want his pity.

"Don't look at me like that," she snapped.

"Like what?"

"It's just a little bit of blood," she answered.

"It looks like a scene from a horror movie," Itachi said.

"I'm going to clean it up soon," she said defensively. "I've just had a lot to do."

"I'll help you clean it up."

"I don't need your help."

"Nonsense," he said firmly. "It's my blood, isn't it? I'm going to help you clean it up."

.

It had been no use arguing with him. Both of them lacking an appetite after being in her bedroom, they cleaned the kitchen together and then moved on to the blood. Sakura had done the heavy lifting – moving her mattress to the curb and taking the towels to the laundry room. She didn't like that Itachi was doing any cleaning at all while he should be resting, but he had been adamant.

When she reentered her bedroom, he was on his knees, scrubbing away at the hardwood floor. In her genin days, Sakura always had an image of Itachi in her head – the one he helped to foster. Now that she was getting to know him, the image of him cleaning her bedroom floors didn't seem so strange. He was nothing if not helpful and considerate.

She watched him from the doorway, taking in his appearance in every way that she could. His long hair was tied low at the nape of his neck and hung down the length of his strong back. He was wearing standard issue shinobi clothes in black, making his body look smaller and slimmer than it actually was. His skin was too pale, but once he started to regain his strength that would change.

Sakura remembered in Toyeiki how old he looked. The harsh lines on his face made him appear much older than he actually was. No doubt the stress of everything he had been through had caused him to age prematurely.

But now there was a quality to his face that was youthful and healthy, in spite of how weak he still was. It hadn't been there in Toyeiki. In fact, Sakura couldn't recall ever seeing him look so… well, happy. He looked happy.

The thought made her smile. Here was a man who had been dealt an unfortunate set of cards and forced to burden things that a thirteen year old never should have to. And during all that strife, all he had wanted was to see Sasuke safe and happy. And now he had that. He had everything he wanted.

And that happiness looked so good on him.

He paused and looked at her with a raised brow. "Is something wrong?"

"No," she said, unable to contain the grin that was more resembling a smirk now. "Everything is perfect."

"Not quite," he said with mild bemusement. "This blood is going to stain your floors."

She approached him and knelt down in front of him, pulling the scrubbing brush from his hands. She took his hands in hers and held them in her lap. "It's okay, Itachi," she said. "Thank you for coming over, for making me dinner, and helping me clean up. Thank you for being so perfect."

"Sakura, I'm not—"

"Can I kiss you?"

She saw the surprise on his face, more evident than he usually allowed. He blinked at her, his mouth opening and then closing like he didn't quite know what to say. And he probably didn't, Sakura thought, because he had probably never been asked that before.

But then he looked conflicted for whatever reason and Sakura's heart sank. Maybe he didn't want to kiss her. Maybe he had changed his mind about her. This dinner that she had deemed to be romantic by its very nature may have actually been nothing more than a simple thank you for saving his life.

But then she felt his hands on the side of her face as he pulled her close to him and pressed his lips to hers. It was sweet and chaste and full of affection. She pulled away before he could deepen it, more afraid that she would do that herself and he specifically told her he wanted to take things slow. She would respect that even though she was dying to kiss him harder, to press her body against his just to feel what it would be like to be touching him everywhere at once.

She moved her hands from his, sliding her palm over his forearm and then up to his bicep and his shoulder. Her eyes followed the movement of her hands, lingering over his muscles and smooth skin. She let her fingers trail down his chest, a place she had touched many times before, but not quite like this.

Her eyes roved over him, appreciating his toned abdomen and the pectoral muscles she could see even through his shirt. Her eyes dipped even lower, down into his lap before they shot back up to his face.

She should have been embarrassed to have openly ogled him. She expected to see amusement on his face. Instead, she found his eyes half lidded, his expression serious and dark.

"Sakura," he murmured.

"Itachi," she whispered back.

The air suddenly seemed very heavy and Sakura felt her breath catching in her throat. But Sakura didn't want air; she wanted Itachi's mouth on hers again. She reached forward to touch him again – it didn't matter where. But she paused when she felt his fingertips skim along the bare skin of her thigh. She shivered under his touch and inched closer to him, rising up on her knees so that she towered above him.

He let his hands wander along her thighs, stroking the back of them, sliding along the creamy skin behind her knees. Sakura watched his face as he touched her. He looked fascinated, enraptured by her, and Sakura felt a warm bubble burst in her chest.

She grabbed his face, probably too roughly, and turned his face up to hers and kissed him. Her body felt electric and on fire, just like the first time she had kissed him. She deepened the kiss and he allowed it this time, even when she inched even closer to him, straddling one of his legs with hers.

His hands skimmed up the sides of her thigh, stopping briefly at the hemline of the sweatshirt before they settled on her hips on top of the fabric. Warmth was curling in her stomach.

Sakura was no stranger to her own body. She may not have had sex with anyone else before, but she had touched herself. Who hadn't? She wasn't ashamed of it. But now she could feel her arousal slowly cresting. She could feel a dampness growing between her legs.

 _He wants to take this slow,_ she reminded herself.

She longed to grind down onto his leg that she had enticingly and dangerously straddled – anything to relieve the tension she felt.

But she froze, instead. She broke away from their kiss, waiting to see what he might do. No longer quite as distracted, Sakura realized that she could smell her own arousal. Which meant that Itachi could, too.

This time, she did feel a little ashamed. She felt her cheeks heat up.

Itachi didn't seem to notice her embarrassment. His eyes were locked onto her neck, of all places. Tenderly, he brushed away the pink hair there and pressed his lips to her pulse point.

Sakura stifled a groan and felt her legs wobble beneath her. She felt his grip on her hips tighten and then his tongue lashed out and tasted the thin skin of her throat. Sakura whimpered, and ground her hips down into his lap, unable to control herself. His grip tightened even further, but his lips froze on her neck.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, pulling away from him slightly. "I really only wanted to kiss you."

He didn't respond, his body frozen still while he watched her with a mixture of curiosity and heat. She felt more heat pool in her belly looking at his sultry gaze. For someone who had also never been romantically involved with anyone, he sure did a good job of looking sexy.

Cautiously, she extricated herself from his lap. Instantly, she missed the heat of his body and the hardness of his thigh between her legs.

Itachi suddenly stiffened, on alert. A beat later, Sakura heard her front door open and Ino's shrill voice ringing out from her kitchen.

"Hey, Forehead!" she called, "Get your little black dress! We're going to the civilian district!"

Sakura rolled her eyes and flashed Itachi a look. "Stay here," she said. She breathed a sigh of relief at the interruption.

Down in the kitchen, Ino was rifling through Sakura' refrigerator. "What's with all this leftover food?" she asked. She slammed the door shut and Sakura saw that she was dressed to the nines in a startling short red dress and impressively tall black heels.

"Oh my god," Ino said, catching sight of Sakura in her sweatshirt. "Come on, let's get you changed. We have a lot of work to do to make you presentable."

"Ino, I'm not really feeling it tonight," she said. "I just want to stay in my pajamas, maybe watch a movie."

Ino eyed her suspiciously. "But there's a party happening _right now_ in the civilian district. Full of hot guys, no doubt," she said. "I thought you wanted to practice flirting."

"No, _you_ wanted me to practice flirting."

"Well, you need the practice," she insisted, "So go put that dress on."

Ino stomped off in the direction of Sakura's bedroom.

"Ino, wait."

Ino ignored her and threw open the door to her bedroom to find Itachi, who had resumed cleaning the floors and was back on his knees with the scrubbing brush.

"Yamanaka-san," he greeted, unfazed by her impromptu appearance.

Ino whipped around a glared at Sakura, who was glaring right back at her. "What the hell?" Ino demanded. "You didn't have to lie to me. You could have just told me he was here."

Sakura sighed because that was sort of true. "I didn't lie," she said. "I _do_ want to stay home in my pajamas."

Ino scoffed. "Please, he's already got half your pajamas off."

"I'm wearing shorts under here!"

"And why the hell is he cleaning your floors?" Ino asked. "Shouldn't he be in the hospital?"

"I was cleared to leave by Tsunade-sama," Itachi interjected, but it fell on deaf ears.

"He offered to clean them, Ino," Sakura said tersely, "I didn't make him."

"So what, I'm just supposed to go to this party by myself now so you can stay here and watch pretty boy scrub your floors?"

"Ino!"

Sakura watched Ino's face wilt and then harden again. Ino had always been a little bit loud and abrasive, but she seemed to be in a worse mood than usual.

"This was all for you, you know," Ino said. "All these nights out, the getting dressed up. I wanted to help you find a man."

This was news to Sakura. If she had known that from the beginning, she might not have gone out with her all those times.

"You knew I liked Itachi."

Ino's eyes flickered over to Itachi who had ceased scrubbing the floor and was watching the two of them argue with wide eyes.

"I didn't think you were serious about him."

Sakura didn't know what to say to that because it felt too awkward having him right there, listening to them.

"Now you have someone and I don't," Ino said, her voice trembling. "We could have, like, gone on double dates or something. It just isn't fair that he was taken away from me right when things were getting good."

"Oh, Ino," Sakura said, wrapping her arms around her.

"No, stop," Ino said, but she didn't resist. "I'm not crying."

Sakura held onto her tight. It had never occurred to her that Ino was using Sakura's love life as a way to vet her own. Sakura didn't know the details about her relationship with Sai, but now that she thought about it, it had been quite a while since she had seen Ino with any other man. She had always been used to seeing her best friend with a flavor of the week. It seemed that now she wasn't ready for that again.

"So you've been trying to live vicariously through me, huh?" Sakura asked.

Ino pulled away from her. "That's ridiculous."

"That's why you've been trying to get me to go out and meet guys," Sakura said. "You aren't ready to date again so you're using me to do it."

"You've got it all wrong."

"That's why you wanted me to flirt with Gaara!"

Ino opened her mouth to protest but then closed it. And then opened it again. "Wait, did you?"

Sakura glanced over at Itachi who was watching her with rapt attention now. He'd abandoned his scrubbing brush and was back on his feet. Ino followed her gaze and raised an eyebrow.

"It's okay, you can tell me later."

"I didn't flirt with him, Ino," Sakura said firmly.

"Did he flirt with you?"

"No!"

"Come on, Sakura, work with me a little bit here," Ino said. "I only asked you to do one thing. Just a little harmless flirting!"

"Well, I was a little preoccupied with the fact that my teammate was on a dangerous, life-threatening mission and I had no idea where he was or when he would be back," Sakura said, crossing her arms.

"Right, right," Ino said. "And pretty boy here was on that mission, too, if I recall correctly.

Sakura glared at her, sucking in a deep breath like the oxygen would somehow give her more patience.

"What do you want from me, Ino?"

"Well, before I realized you had _company_ —" Sakura winced at the inflection of the word, "I wanted you to come party with me."

"Ino, I'm—"

"You should go with her," Itachi said, interrupting her thought before she could finish it. "I should get home." He moved to stand in the doorway, leaning against the frame, waiting for her response.

"Are you sure?" Sakura asked. She didn't like the idea of abandoning him after he'd specifically come to see her, especially since he had been so nice to her. Not to mention he was still recovering from an injury and she didn't want to be too far away from him, just in case. And if she was honest, she wanted to kiss him again. And again and again.

But Ino also needed her right now, and Itachi seemed to understand that. He nodded and gave her a small, but genuine smile.

She leaned up onto his toes and kissed him on the corner of his mouth, quick and chaste. She was amused to see him blushing when she pulled away.

"I'll make it up to you," she said. "Thank you."

"Aww!" Ino cooed dramatically.

Sakura rolled her eyes.


	28. Chapter 28

Itachi hadn't been all that bothered by Ino showing up at Sakura's apartment. For the second time, they had let physical affection get taken a little bit too far and he wanted to get some space from her. He couldn't blame it entirely on Sakura (and he wouldn't have, even if it had been her fault).

But when she had asked if she could kiss him, her voice so tender and eager, her eyes lit with anticipation – well, it _did_ things to him. His whole body had seemed to respond to her without even a touch. It was mesmerizing and horrifying all at once because he had no clue what he was doing. He wanted to take her right then, to rip off that sweatshirt and show her exactly what she did to him.

Of course, he couldn't do that. It was too much. Too soon. There was a modicum of propriety that needed to be upheld. Sakura was special. He wouldn't mess their relationship up by taking things too quickly. For his own sanity, he needed to slow down.

But, oh, had she been a real temptress. Everything about her – her scent, her hair, the way her lithe fingers clung to his face while she kissed him – it was intoxicating. He vividly remembered the way she had straddled his leg, so wanton, so desperate. He could feel her heat, her dampness. And that he had been the one to do that her! It had taken more self control than he'd ever used before to prevent himself from pinning her down and ravaging her on her soapy, bloody bedroom floor.

So Ino's appearance had been welcome. She was a good distraction. For Sakura, anyway. Though their topic of discussion had been interesting to Itachi ( _had_ she flirted with Gaara?), he hadn't been able to pay too much attention since all of the blood in his brain had rushed elsewhere.

After he'd excused himself (and received a welcome, but surprising kiss from her), Itachi had gone straight back to the Uchiha compound, which had been blessedly empty. For the first time in his life, Itachi touched himself. He'd never been one to indulge in such hedonistic pleasures. He had certainly imagined that if he ever did, it would have been with another person, and not just himself.

But the situation necessitated it. He couldn't think straight. He couldn't get Sakura out of his mind. He thought of her, imagined her. Her lips teasing him, her legs wrapped around him. He wanted her so badly.

And yet, from an outside perspective, it would have seemed like she was the one who wanted him. How could that even be possible? How could she desire him like that, so much that she would grind against his leg with reckless abandon? She had apologized when they parted. She had only wanted a kiss. If he had pressed her for more… If Ino hadn't showed up… Would they have had sex?

By the time Itachi had woken up the next morning, he didn't feel quite so _hot._ Sasuke was still absent, and even though he wanted to see his brother, he was grateful that he wasn't there now.

Itachi wanted advice. When he had still been a law-abiding citizen of Konoha, Itachi had never been afraid to ask for help. He couldn't know everything, and he'd never learn it if he didn't ask. Shisui had always had answers. Itachi couldn't help but wonder what advice he might have given regarding Sakura. Shisui always seemed to be good with women.

It didn't do any good to dwell on that now. Who else could he ask for help?

Deciding that it was probably in his best interest to go ahead and finish his mission report and turn it in to Tsunade, Itachi made his was toward the Hokage tower.

He was surprised to find Jiraiya coming out of Tsunade's office when he arrived.

"Itachi," he said with a hint of surprise.

Itachi hadn't mentioned it to anyone, but he had been feeding Jiraiya information about Akatsuki for as long as he'd been a part of the organization. He trusted the sannin to do the right thing for Konoha with that information. There wasn't much else Itachi could do for Konoha while he was still a part of the organization.

It had been quite some time since Itachi had seen Jiraiya. After Itachi's last official Akatsuki mission, they had been unable to meet. And since Itachi had been unofficially disbanded from Akatsuki, he had no new information to share with him anyway.

He had a suspicion that Tsunade was now aware of the relationship they had with one another. Itachi had been fearful to let the Sandaime in on that secret as it could have been used against him. But now it seemed he didn't have to worry about that.

"Jiraiya-san," Itachi greeted. "What are you doing here?"

"I received a tip that Akatsuki's base was in Rain."

"So you came here to tell Tsunade-sama?"

"No, I went to Rain and found half the city completely destroyed," Jiraiya said, and though the subject was quite serious, he wore a goofy grin. "And I'd know the aftermath of Rasengan anywhere so I figured Naruto had something to do with it."

"You went to Rain knowing that Akatsuki's base was there?" Itachi asked. "They would have killed you."

"I may be an old man, but that doesn't mean I don't have any fight left in these old bones," Jiraiya said, flexing his biceps. This new, silly Jiraiya was not the same one he rendezvoused with during his time in Akatsuki.

"I heard that you and Naruto took them all out by yourselves," Jiraiya said. "So I suppose you're glad to be back on Konoha's side of things again."

"Yes," Itachi admitted. "I am."

After a few more exchanges of pleasantries, Jiraiya convinced Itachi to grab a bite to eat with him. He supposed that asking for a mission could wait. Jiraiya was a distraction enough as it was.

So he found himself at the familiar ramen stand, watching Jiraiya devour his bowl of food with a voracity that rivaled Naruto's.

"So do you think that Akatsuki threat has finally disappeared completely?" Jiraiya asked between mouthfuls.

Itachi shook his head. "Akatsuki was just a front for whatever Madara was planning. With all of his manpower gone, he's going to need time to rebuild and decide what he will do next."

"Right," Jiraiya replied. "So that gives us some time to prepare for him."

They continued to eat in silence, Jiraiya completely oblivious to Itachi's discomfort. It wasn't that he didn't necessarily like the sannin. They had gotten along well enough while he had been in Akatsuki. He respected the strength and power that he knew Jiraiya had. It was mostly his erratic and often perverted behavior that Itachi found off-putting.

"So it must be weird for you to be back in Konoha," Jiraiya said. "There isn't anything you need to protect it from right now. It's always been war, the massacre, then Akatsuki. God knows what else. I bet having some peace is nice."

"There will always be threats against Konoha," Itachi said. "Even now. Only recently Kabuto created a disease meant to infect shinobi. One that could be used as biological warfare."

"Kabuto?"

"Orochimaru's lackey."

Jiraiya seemed to bristle at the mention of his former teammate. Itachi didn't know what Jiraiya's feelings were on the other sannin's death, but having lost his own teammates and even his family, Itachi could relate. These were the lines that became blurred when one was a shinobi. Friend and foe. Should he have been celebrating the death of his enemy, or mourning the loss of his comrade?

"What happened with the disease?" Jiraiya asked. "I've never heard of it."

"Tsunade-sama's apprentice took care of it."

"Ah, Sakura Haruno," Jiraiya said with a lecherous grin that Itachi did not care for. "She's quite shapely, isn't she? Breasts too small, though."

"She's a very skilled medic," Itachi said tersely. "In fact, Kabuto tried to recruit her after she created a vaccine for his disease."

"Did he, now?"

Itachi didn't respond, turning back to his food. He was annoyed now, not only because he felt Jiraiya's words were disrespectful, but also because he'd been doing his best to keep Sakura off his mind and now she was back at the forefront of it.

"I can see why he'd want to have a little tart like her around," Jiraiya continued, unaware of Itachi's subtle glaring. "She's quite exotic looking, what with the pink hair and all. And her legs, wow, they just go on for days."

"Jiraiya, you old pervert!"

Both Itachi and Jiraiya turned around at the sound of the familiar voice and saw Naruto bounding toward them. He slid into the seat beside Itachi, waving his arms to get Ayame's attention.

"If Sakura heard you talking like that she'd kick your ass," Naruto said. "And in front of Itachi, too!"

"Come on, even a stoic man like Itachi has to admit that she's a fine piece of work," Jiraiya said, wiggling his eyebrows.

"The fact that Kabuto wants to recruit her means that he's working toward something," Itachi said, steering the conversation away from Sakura. Naruto knew of their budding relationship, and that wasn't something he necessarily wanted Jiraiya to know. "I think Konoha should be concerned about him."

"You think?" Naruto asked. "I mean, he has to know we could kick his ass. Sasuke demolished Orochimaru. Me and you took on most of Akatsuki by ourselves. Does he think he stands a chance?"

"Never underestimate your opponent, Naruto," Jiraiya advised.

"I just think we should keep an eye out for him," Itachi said.

"Maybe we should send someone to spy on him," Naruto suggested. "You know, see what he's up to. Does anyone know where he is?"

"I know he has a base in southern Fire Country a few days east of the River border," Itachi said. "It looked like he was carrying on Orochimaru's work – doing human experiments."

"I bet Sasuke would know more about him," Naruto said.

That wasn't a bad idea, Itachi thought. Maybe he could persuade Tsunade into letting the two of them take a mission together to gather information about what Kabuto was doing.

.

Later that day, Itachi found Sasuke back at the Uchiha compound. "Sasuke," he said, "Are you up for a spar?"

It had been a while since he had sparred with his brother and he was curious about what he could do. It was always engaging to fight against another Sharingan user.

"Should you be sparring in your condition?"

"Tsunade-sama cleared me," Itachi said, "I'm good to go."

Sasuke smirked. "Alright then."

They moved to the area behind the main house where Itachi used to practice with targets when he was younger. The place made him feel nostalgic and seeing Sasuke standing there, grown up and ready to fight made him swell with pride.

Itachi couldn't deny that mistakes he made with Sasuke had been detrimental, even before the massacre. He had always pushed his brother aside, both wanting to protect him and just not knowing whether or not he could come through on any promises he made.

Now he had an opportunity to right those wrongs. He wouldn't have to push Sasuke away anymore. He had planned to let Sasuke win their fight, to let him kill him. But this time, Itachi would not hold back.

The spar kicked off with genjutsu, as Itachi predicted. Sasuke was adept with his Sharingan, Itachi was pleased to note. With his Mangekyou, there was little chance of Sasuke capturing Itachi in a genjutsu for more than a few seconds, but it was interesting to see what kinds of illusions his little brother had learned to create.

Itachi steered clear of using emotional traps and stuck to physical sensation to fool his brother. Sasuke was smart and capable, but it seemed like a low blow.

But it seemed that Sasuke wasn't afraid to use that very tactic against him. A shrill cry rang out from the trees and Itachi looked over to find Sakura writhing in the fallen leaves, soaked in blood.

The sight sent a pang of horror coursing through Itachi's chest, but he wasn't fooled. Sasuke knew that wouldn't have fooled him anyway.

Breaking the genjutsu with a hand sign, Itachi sent a glare in Sasuke's direction. "That's a cheap trick."

Sasuke smirked. "I was just curious to see your reaction."

Itachi didn't care to mince words with him – and certainly not about Sakura, who he was still having quite a bit of trouble keeping off his mind. He launched himself into physical attacks – throwing shuriken and fists.

Sasuke was extremely fast, Itachi learned. In fact, he seemed to be quite a bit faster than he was. They kept up a taijutsu battle for quite some time, each brother parrying and dodging expertly. They battled to the point that Itachi felt exhaustion creeping up on him.

Itachi was an excellent shinobi, and without arrogance or conceit, he was aware of it. But coming off his taxing mission, he could feel that he was about to lose this fight to Sasuke. It filled him with pride to know that his brother was so strong now – that he wouldn't need his protection anymore. And maybe he hadn't for a long time.

But he wasn't quite ready to admit to himself that Sasuke had become stronger than he was. Itachi didn't have much of a competitive nature, but the idea of losing to his brother now seemed very unpleasant.

In a real fight against an enemy, Itachi could fall back on the powers of his Mangekyou. He was nearly invincible that way, and he knew it. He didn't like the idea of using those powers against Sasuke, who hadn't awakened his own Mangekyou yet. But he disliked losing to him even more.

Itachi parried a well-thrown thrown punch and grabbed Sasuke roughly by the back of the neck, shoving him to the ground.

By the time Sasuke had returned to his feet (a fraction of a second), Itachi had initiated his partial Susanoo. He felt the pain sharply and acutely everywhere in his body. Using Susanoo was risky, especially while he was still in recovery from his previous injuries.

He saw Sasuke's eyes widen slightly, but noticeably. His Susanoo's form was only skeletal, nowhere near the full and devastating potential it had. But it would be enough to beat Sasuke.

Itachi began throwing punches again, slow but heavy and accurate. Sasuke was quick enough to dodge them and smart enough not to stay in close range. But all Itachi had to do was wait. He wouldn't be able to land an attack on him without getting close.

Pain continued to sear through him and Sasuke seemed aware of it. From a safe distance, Sasuke paused, giving him a curious and reprimanding look. "Do you think it's wise to be using your Mangekyou right now?"

Itachi didn't answer, instead using his Yasaka Magatama to launch a ranged attack at him. No, he thought, he shouldn't be using a technique like this right now. If Tsunade knew what he was doing she'd have his head. She had warned him about over exerting himself and using his Mangekyou.

Instead of dodging like Itachi presumed he would do, Sasuke allowed the attack to land. With horror, Itachi watched the magatama rip through his brother's flesh, blood spraying into the grass beneath him.

Instantly, his Susanoo was gone and he was by Sasuke's side.

A second too late, Itachi realized that it had been a genjutsu. He felt movement behind him, but his exhaustion made him too slow, too sluggish. The cool steel of a kunai met the skin of his throat and he heard an amused chuckle from behind him.

Itachi turned around to face his brother and admit defeat only to be met with a fist to the face. He reeled backwards, stumbling to the ground.

"I win."

From his position on the ground, Itachi prodded his fingers into the swelling skin around his eye. It would be black by morning, he knew. He looked up at Sasuke, who was covered in bruises and scrapes of his own.

"You win," Itachi conceded.

Sasuke extended a hand to help him up.

"I'd like to fight you again, though," Sasuke said, still grinning in the aftermath of his victory. "After you've recovered and are back at full strength. It's not as much fun beating you when you're practically cripple."

"I'm not even slightly crippled, Sasuke," Itachi argued, but he was smiling too. Losing to Sasuke hadn't been as bad as he'd expected.

"Whatever," Sasuke said with undeserved smugness. "Should we get you to the hospital?"

Itachi briefly considered the fact that he _should_ go to the hospital now. His entire body felt like it was on fire, every cell in his body lit with agony. It was the unfortunate side effect of his Mangekyou, which he knew he shouldn't have used. If he went to the hospital now he would have to explain that to Tsunade.

"No, I'm fine," Itachi insisted.

"You don't look fine."

Itachi glared at him and then winced. He could feel the blood dripping down from his eyes like tears. His vision had noticeably worsened since Sakura had taken a look at them just yesterday, and now everything was slightly blurry again.

"Should I get your girlfriend to come take a look at you?"

Another unappealing option. How could he try to keep his mind off of her when everyone was constantly bringing her up?

"She isn't my girlfriend."

"So that's a yes, then?"

Itachi attempted to stand up and faltered a bit. He was exhausted, but it wasn't his weakened state that made it so hard to stand. It was the unbearable pain coursing through every part of him. Sasuke pulled his arm up over his shoulders and helped him get to his feet.

"Yes, please go get her."

.

Predictably, Sakura was not happy when she arrived at the Uchiha compound. She only got one day off this week, she complained, and now she was wasting it here doing what she essentially would have been doing at the hospital anyway. She looked exhausted, too, Itachi noted. Probably from all the partying she'd been doing with Ino the night prior.

Itachi felt a stab of guilt in his gut for making her do this. He had been the one to urge her to go out with her friend, and then also the one to demand that she come heal him after what was admittedly a stupid decision on his part.

But even though her words were harsh, her hands were gentle where they touched him. She eased the pain throughout his body with a calm pulsing of her chakra. She reduced the swelling of his blackened eye and fixed the various scrapes and cuts Sasuke had inflicted on him.

"How are his eyes?" Sasuke asked. He had watched the process from the doorway, which Itachi was somewhat grateful for. It kept him on his best behavior while he longed to reach out and touch her.

Touching her was a no-no right now. In fact, even just seeing her brought those urges flooding back to him.

"You're very concerned about his eyes, aren't you, Sasuke?" Sakura asked, her tone a little too harsh.

"They're his most important weapon," he snapped. "Of course I'm concerned."

Sakura rolled her eyes, but Sasuke wouldn't have been able to see it with her back turned to him. Itachi, however, grinned at the gesture. She caught his eye and looked away demurely. It struck Itachi as odd that she'd be so shy about eye contact, but then he felt her hand settle on his thigh, warm and pleasant. She brushed the pad of her thumb back and forth along the inner side of his thigh and Itachi felt a sharp stab of heat in his chest.

"His eyes will be fine," she said to Sasuke. "But you really have to stop using them so much. You shouldn't have used them while you're still rehabilitating," she said to Itachi.

"Sorry," he replied.

"All that effort and you didn't even win," she teased.

Itachi glared at Sasuke over her shoulder. "You told her?"

"Of course I told her."

It was Itachi's turn to roll his eyes. "I let him win," he whispered to Sakura just loud enough for Sasuke to hear, too.

"You did not," Sasuke snapped.

Sakura giggled.

"Whatever," Sasuke mumbled. "I'm going to find Naruto."

Sakura giggled again and then it morphed into full-blown laughter. Itachi smiled, caught up in her infectious grin.

"Don't forget to wrap up your dick, Itachi," Sasuke said as he was closing the door behind him. "You wouldn't want any pink-haired Uchiha bastards running around."

Itachi gave one point to Sasuke because that wiped the smile off both their faces. Sakura's face was beet red and she cast her eyes down to the floor. The door shut behind Sasuke with a forceful click, and with it all the air was sucked from the room.

It was the most awkward he had ever felt around her, even back in Toyeiki when everything was new and strange and hostile. There was nothing he could possibly say to ease the unbearable tension in the room now. All he had wanted for the day was to _not_ think about Sakura, and certainly not about impregnating her.

"Pink hair isn't so bad," Itachi finally said, breaking the uncomfortable silence. "I'm not sure why he said it like it's a bad thing."

Sakura, still looking mortified and slightly angry, glanced up at him through her lashes. "Pink hair is recessive," she said quietly. "The only chance my children have of having pink hair is if their father has pink hair, too."

Itachi didn't know how to respond to _that_. The idea of someone else being the father of Sakura's children was unsettling. Luckily there were no pink-haired men that he knew of to picture her with.

But then she cracked a smile again, small but warm. "But that's sweet, though," she said. "That you'd pretend to be okay with having a son with pink hair."

Itachi felt his skin flush, because that wasn't quite what he'd said and now she was discussing what their potential children would look like. It was a step in the wrong direction, even though he felt an uncomfortable twitching in his pants just thinking about having children with her.

"And you also wouldn't need to worry about condoms," she continued, oblivious to his inner turmoil. "I can handle that on my end."

He swallowed nervously because he was definitely not comfortable with this topic of discussion. She was smiling still, but her smile faltered a bit when she looked up at his face. He wondered what she saw there that made her do that and he wanted to touch her face and make her smile again, brighter this time.

But she stood up quickly, brushing invisible dirt from her skirt.

"I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable, Itachi-san," she said. The sound of the suffix attached to his name hit him like a sack of bricks. "Let me take a look at your eyes now."

He felt a pang of remorse, though he wasn't quite sure why. This relationship stuff was so new to him and it felt like he was in a dangerous free fall. It was his good fortune to have a girl like Sakura actually want him, and in no unclear terms. She wasn't playing games with him. She didn't try to hide the fact that she liked him. She had even told the Yamanaka girl.

It had to have been just as terrifying to her. She had never been in a relationship either. She had confessed to him, without his goading, that she'd never kissed anyone before. She was brave in every way that he was a fool and a coward.

His initial affections for her had been bold and risky. He had touched her face, caught her hair between his fingers. He'd brazenly looked her up and down. He'd let their arms brush against one another. All of those things had been simple. They could easily have been brushed away by either of them as flirtatious, but meaningless gestures.

Their kiss on the training field could not. Neither could their kiss in her bedroom. Her bedroom! All of these little touches were adding up. He could feel his affection for her surging, growing each day.

And she wanted more. It was obvious. He saw the desire in her eyes when she'd asked to kiss him. He was sure his own eyes mirrored that feeling. He wanted more, too. Yet she was the brave one, the one who asked for more, the one who took what she wanted. She let her hands wander farther than he trusted his own to. She pressed them closer together when he could do nothing more than tremble.

And it was easy to get swept away with her. He remembered the taste of her neck, the way she had writhed against him. He could have lost all control right there. But she had pulled away, then, because she thought he wanted her to. He didn't even know it was possible to want two so conflicting things. How could he want to push her away in the same breath he wanted to cling to her and never let go?

He looked at her now, so patient and concerned for him while he deliberated his feelings. She would eventually move on, he thought, if she grew bored with his pace. She would think he didn't want her. That was what she had done when Sasuke didn't want her. She moved on.

Who would she find next? Who else would she let kiss her, let touch the silky skin of her long, pale legs?

"Itachi-san?"

He cringed. How could she call him that now in the privacy of his home with no one else around? Who was she being professional for?

Again he looked at her, almost annoyed with the worry on her face. He wanted to push her back against the wall and kiss her until she forgot about his eyes. He wanted to snap at her and tell her never to call him Itachi-san again.

"I'm fine," he said instead. "You may look at my eyes now."


	29. Chapter 29

Itachi was acting weird. Sakura was a good enough detective to have deduced that Sasuke's comment was what had brought about this odd behavior, but she found herself annoyed with it nonetheless.

She had taken the time out of her only day off to come over here and fix him up after he made the extremely poor decision to use his Mangekyou and now he wouldn't even look at her.

Her hands were on his temples, surveying the damage he'd done. It wasn't as bad as she'd made it seem, but he really needed to be more careful or he would destroy all the work she'd done to correct the damage. Using her chakra, she soothed the nerves behind his eyes, knowing that he was probably feeling a lot of discomfort.

But in spite of the calming, healing nature of her chakra, she noticed that his hands were clenched into tight fists at his sides. His expression, even with his eyes closed, looked tense and upset.

With one last burst of chakra through the channels of his eyes, Sakura stepped away from him.

"Okay, Itachi-san," she said, trying her best to keep a professional and calm tone in her voice. "You're all set. Are you feeling any pain anywhere?"

His eyes flew open and she saw a flash of irritation in them. His lips were pressed together in a thin line. "No," he said through clenched teeth.

Sakura withered a little under his heated stare. She didn't know what the hell his problem was, but for some reason she felt like it had more to do with her and less to do with Sasuke's comment.

"Are you angry with me?" she asked.

She noticed the instant change in his features – the way they softened and looked almost sad.

"I'm not angry with you," he said, but he wasn't looking at her. "I've just got a lot on my mind right now."

She sat down on the arm of the chair he was sitting in, emboldened by his words and just wanting to be closer to him. "Do you want to talk about it?" she asked.

She couldn't imagine what could be bothering him. If there was any point in time that Itachi should be carefree and happy, it seemed like it would be now.

"Not really."

She resisted the urge to sigh. If he didn't want to talk to her about it, she could understand that. It hurt, though, that he wouldn't share whatever it was that as bothering him.

"Tell me about your night out partying," he said. She looked at him curiously. He didn't seem quite so tense anymore and she felt him leaning closer to her, not quite touching, but close enough for her to feel the heat of his arm against hers. "Did you have fun?"

"If taking care of a drunk blonde all night is considered fun, then yes," she replied with a wry smirk. "She got wasted almost as soon as we got there. I spent the night trying to keep her up on her feet and then when that failed trying to keep wandering hands off her."

"I'm sure a kunoichi of your caliber had no trouble with that," he said. She smiled and nudged him with her hip. He leaned even closer then, and Sakura had the urge to grab his head and crush it against her chest and just hold him there.

"Yeah, well," she said, "It would have been easier if I hadn't been a little tipsy, too."

"So did you get to practice flirting?"

Sakura pressed her lips together. She hadn't really flirted with anyone. She hadn't really wanted to. It was hard enough to keep her mind off the steamy incident in her bedroom the night prior. Ino had assisted her in scanning the room for any potentional suitors, but it had been Itachi's face that Sakura had been looking for. She knew of course that he was home resting, where he should be.

And she also knew that Itachi was well aware of her attraction toward him. Did he really want to know the answer to that question?

"Not really," she answered. "Hopefully my life will never depend on my flirting skills."

"I think you're pretty good at it."

"What makes you say that?"

He looked confused and for a moment Sakura swore she saw the faintest blush on his cheeks,

She figured this was as good a time as any to test out the validity of his statement. She leaned in close to him, letting her hair tumble down between them. It was getting quite long now and she knew that the tips of it were ghosting over his shoulder. He could probably smell her shampoo. She knew he liked vanilla.

With her eyes widened, she darted them back and forth between his eyes making it look like they were sparkling as they caught the light. She caught her lower lip between her teeth before letting it go again.

"Itachi," she breathed in her sultriest tone, fluttering her lashes. It was a cruel thing to do. She was well aware that he liked her lashes. Then she touched his arm lightly and smiled.

The effect was immediate. He grabbed her face roughly and pulled her into his lap, pressing his lips to hers with tenacity she wasn't used to from him. She shifted so that she was straddling his legs and kissed him back. It was gentle, undemanding in spite of the urgency she felt rolling off him in waves. It was languid, torturously slow and heated. Sakura rolled her hips against him, earning a groan of approval from him.

But then his hands were on her hips, steadying her and holding her still. "Sakura," he said when they broke apart. "You're quite good at flirting, I think."

"How am I at kissing?"

His face grew somber. For a second she was caught up in how handsome he was, still flushed from their kiss. His lashes rivaled hers in length and framed his almond eyes in a way that was almost feminine.

"I don't have anything to compare to you," he said. "But I can't imagine how it could be better."

Sakura smiled, completely entranced by his sincere tone and wide eyes. His skin was flushed in the most delightful way. She had forgotten all about how angry she had been when Sasuke had come to retrieve her.

"Sakura, I really like you."

"I really like you, too."

"I want to take you on a real date."

She smiled and wriggled in his lap. "I like moonlit walks and fancy restaurants," she said, "if you want some ideas."

He closed his eyes, tightening his grip on her hips. "I'm sorry for making you come all the way over here on your day off."

She shrugged in response. If this was her reward, then maybe it had been worth it to come all the way over here.

"I'm going to be honest with you, Sakura," he said. "You make me really nervous."

A very unladylike snort came from her mouth and she grinned at him, running her hands over the expanse of his chest. "Really?" she asked, "I make the famed, powerful Itachi Uchiha nervous?"

"I've had a hard time keeping you off my mind," he said, his voice a half whisper. In spite of her light and teasing tone, he still looked quite serious – almost upset. "Especially when you are this close."

"What about when I'm _this_ close?" she asked, leaning in and burying her face in his neck. She wrapped her arms around his waist and held him close, but motionless. When he didn't respond or move, Sakura turned so that her lips brushed against the skin just under his jaw. It wasn't a kiss, but the contact was enough for her to feel a shiver run through him.

"Sakura…"

She pulled away from him, puzzled by the strain in his tone and then the look of discomfort on his face. Immediately, she hopped out of his lap and took several steps away from him.

"Itachi, I'm sorry," she said, though she was a little hurt. "I thought that…"

"You thought what?"

"I don't know," she said. "You just seem really uncomfortable with, um… with physical contact."

He extended his hand for her and she tentatively grabbed it. He pulled her close to him again so that she was standing directly in front of him, looking down into his face.

"Not uncomfortable," he said. "Nervous. Because you're so beautiful and so eager and I've never done this before. I don't want to disappoint you."

"I've never done this before either," she responded. She understood how he felt. She felt the same way only it hadn't really inhibited her. She let her judgment get clouded when she was with him. She let her body control her. It appeared that Itachi either couldn't or wouldn't do that. "And I don't want to disappoint you."

He cracked a smile. "I don't think that's possible."

She smiled back, glad that he told her how he was feeling. She felt better knowing that it wasn't her fault that he seemed to react so aversely to her attentions.

"I know you want to go slow, Itachi," she said. "So I will respect whatever boundaries you set for us."

He looked absolutely mortified at the idea of discussing sexual boundaries with her, and for some reason that made Sakura want to laugh.

Before he could answer, a knock came at the front door. With a curious furrow of his brow, Itachi got up to answer the door. It was a jonin, casual and not urgent.

"Is Haruno-san here?" he asked.

Itachi opened the door wider so he could see Sakura.

"You're needed at the Hokage tower immediately," he said to her.

"Is it urgent?" she asked.

"Forgive me, Haruno-san," he answered, "I don't know."

"I'll be right there."

.

"Danzo requested an audience with you."

Sakura blinked, unsure of whether or not she heard her shishou correctly. She had rushed all the way from the Uchiha compound, not for a medical emergency, but so Danzo – the very man she'd tried to kill only recently – could speak with her?

"Umm… why?"

"He wouldn't tell me," Tsunade answered, annoyed. "He also asked to speak with Naruto, but Naruto refused."

"Wait," Sakura said. "I can refuse, too?"

"It's your choice whether to speak with him or not."

"Do you have any idea what he wants?"

Tsunade sighed and clasped her hands together on the desk in front of her. "I don't know, but I think it might have something to do with his trial. He may want to plead his case. He knows I'm not likely to listen or care, but maybe he thinks he can sway either you or Naruto."

"Why would that matter?" Sakura asked. "We have nothing to do with his trial."

"You will have to be witnesses, Sakura."

Oh. Sakura hadn't known that.

"I'll give you some time to decide what you want to do."

"I want to speak with him."

"Are you sure?" Tsunade asked. "You can take some time to think about it if you want. You don't have to make a decision right now."

Sakura didn't need time to think about it. Danzo was a man who had answers for her. Danzo was Itachi's last loose end. If he wanted to see her, even for his own selfish reasons, she could grant him that if only so she could get what she needed from him, too.

"No, I want to see him."

.

Ibiki led her down to Danzo's cell. "He's bound with chakra suppressing chains so he won't be able to hurt you," he told her. "He has requested a private audience with you, so we will not be able to hear anything going on in the room unless you wish for us to. We will, however, be able to see you both."

Sakura thought about that for a moment. At this point, she was in the habit of hiding things from Tsunade. If something happened that she wanted Tsunade to know about, she could always just tell her.

"I think it's best to keep the conversation private for now," she said to Ibiki.

"Alright," he said. "If you need help or you want me to come into the room, just raise your hand."

Sakura entered the room alone and was surprised to see how lavishly this prisoner was living. It seemed his position on the council earned him a certain amount of dignity, even in his disgrace.

The chair he was chained to was plush and soft looking. He was covered with a thick quilt to prevent the chill from biting him. A tray of half eaten food (delicious smelling, Sakura noted) sat on a small table beside him in addition to a stack of books and a few scrolls.

"Sakura Haruno," he said, his tone warm. It sent a shiver down her spine.

She narrowed her eyes at him and cocked out her hip. "Before you say anything else," she said. "Why don't you tell me why I should listen to anything you have to say."

"You're angry with me, I see," he said. "But I think your anger is misplaced. After all, Konoha is my home, too. I only want to see it safe."

"You're awfully willing to have Konoha citizens killed for someone who supposedly wants to protect them," she argued.

"Sometimes lives must be sacrificed for the greater good," he said.

"I disagree."

"Well, you certainly seem to think highly of Itachi Uchiha," he pointed out. "And he sacrificed his own family."

"Don't you dare speak his name."

"You are close with both of the Uchiha boys, aren't you?" he asked.

Sakura narrowed her eyes. She had come down here with the intention of getting answers about the massacre, about everything he had supposedly done in the interest of protecting the village. But now she could only feel a blinding anger at the man who had done so much to hurt the people she cared about.

Her fists were clenched tightly at her side and she ground her teeth together, but she made her best effort to keep her face neutral.

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about, Haruno," he said with infuriating calmness.

"What about them?"

"The coup the Uchihas were planning was only a symptom of a much larger problem," he said. "They are a dangerous clan, rooted in anger and hatred. Their kekkei genkai necessitates mere children experiencing traumatic and horrifying events. Their powers are built on rage and fury. They do not belong in Konoha. There can never be peace with them here."

Sakura felt her anger flaring up in her chest, but his words gave her pause. Was there any truth to that? Itachi had urged Sasuke to 'foster his hatred' to get stronger. Awakening their Sharingan was always due to something emotionally traumatic. Did that mean the Uchiha clan was too dangerous to stay here?

"They are a founding clan," Sakura argued. "It is their right to be here."

"Maybe," Danzo conceded. "But if they had gone through with the coup they would have killed hundreds of people. What if the restored Uchiha clan tries to do the same?"

"They won't."

"You can't know that for sure," he argued.

She tapped her foot on the ground impatiently. She was angry with herself for how much sense he was making. Itachi would never let his clan plan a coup. He had already stopped one from happening. With Itachi as the clan head, things would be different.

"What do you want, Danzo?"

"Convince them to leave," he said. "You and the Uzumaki boy. They'll listen to you. Convince them to leave Konoha and never return."

"You'll just send someone after them to kill them," Sakura said through clenched teeth. "And this time it wouldn't be considered a crime against Konoha since they would no longer be citizens."

He shook his head. "You have my word that I will not harm either of them as long as they stay out of Konoha and its business."

"How can I believe that?" she demanded. "You sent ROOT members after Team 7 and Team Ro. I was on that team. Kakashi-sensei, Naruto, and Yamato did nothing wrong."

It was his turn to narrow his visible eye. "If I recall correctly, you planned on killing me that day. What is the difference between you killing me to protect Konoha and me killing them? We obviously do not agree on what is in Konoha's best interest, but we _do_ both have the village's best interest at heart."

Sakura swallowed because she didn't have an answer to that. He was right. If she was willing to kill him – a member of Konoha's council – in order to protect the people she loved, what was the difference in him doing the exact same thing?

"ROOT was not supposed to harm anyone other than Sasuke and Itachi," he said, his voice softer.

She growled, a sound that surprised her. She couldn't recall ever feeling so angry before.

"Just think about what I said, Haruno," he said. "That clan is dangerous and you should be careful. You are a well respected citizen of Konoha. The people like you. I'd hate to see you lost to that wicked clan."

Some of the tension in her shoulders slackened, but she could still feel her anger burning hotly in her chest. Without another word, she turned on her heel and left.

.

"Naruto, open up!" Sakura yelled, banging on his apartment door. She continued banging loudly on the door until a few moments later when a disheveled looking Naruto swung the door open.

"Sakura, what the hell?" he demanded. "Why are you so loud?"

She pushed her way inside only to find an equally disheveled look Sasuke sitting on Naruto's couch, an annoyed look on his face.

"Naruto," she said, ignoring whatever had been going on between them. "I need to talk to you in private."

Naruto was visibly taken aback and scratched his head with befuddlement. "Anything you say to me you can say to Sasuke, too," he said. "I'm going to tell him about it anyway."

Sakura glanced over at Sasuke who was smirking.

"Naruto, please," she pleaded. "It's important."

Naruto looked at Sasuke who shrugged and stood up from the couch. "Whatever," he said. "I'll go get the three of us something to eat."

It was Sakura's turn to look surprised this time. She hadn't been expecting that. She always felt like she was intruding whenever she was around Sasuke and Naruto. Being invited to eat with them at Naruto's apartment felt a lot like third wheeling.

"Oh, okay," she said, not knowing what else to say. When Sasuke had shut the front door behind him, Sakura turned to face Naruto.

"What is it, Sakura?"

"Why did you refuse to see Danzo?"

"Oh, how did you know about that?" he asked.

"He wanted to see me, too," she answered. "Did you tell Sasuke that he wanted to talk to you?"

"Of course," Naruto said. "I tell Sasuke everything."

Sakura stared at him for a second. They were about as subtle as she and Itachi had been at keeping their relationship incognito.

"Well, I talked to him," she said, drinking in the weird expression on Naruto's face. "I wanted to hear what he had to say."

"Well?"

"He told me he wants me and you to convince Itachi and Sasuke to leave Konoha. He thinks the Uchihas are dangerous and violent," she said.

Naruto's eyebrows went up in surprise. "Well, I can't exactly argue with that…" he said. "But they wouldn't do anything to hurt Konoha. I'm certain of it."

"I know," she said. "But he's determined. If they don't leave, he'll try to find a way to have them killed."

"He won't have any power anymore after the trial," Naruto pointed out. "Once he's off the council we won't have to worry about him anymore."

Sakura groaned and shook her head. "No, we will," she argued. "Do you think he'll just stop caring about Konoha after he's removed from the council? He's still going to try to find a way to get rid of them. He has the means to do it, too."

"Let's not pretend he actually cares about Konoha," Naruto said, glaring at her.

"In his own twisted way, he does," she said. "We need to figure out a way to keep him off the Uchiha clan's back."

"Should we ask Tsunade-sama for help?"

"I think we should keep this between us for now," she said. "I'm afraid that if Sasuke finds out that he will do something drastic. Itachi has been through enough already, so I don't want to tell him either. Besides, he'll tell Sasuke."

"I don't know, Sakura," Naruto said. "I don't like keeping secrets from Sasuke."

"You know him better than I do. What do you think he'll do when he finds out?" she asked.

"He'll want to kill him…"

"And that's what got us into trouble the first time."

"Fine, we'll keep it a secret for now," he said. "But only until we figure out what we're going to do."

.

By the time Sasuke had returned with several greasy bags of takeout, Sakura and Naruto had moved on to a different topic of conversation. Though Sakura was worried about what Danzo might do, it appeared that he was going to give her some time to think about her decision. They would at least have until his trial to decide what they were going to do.

It had been a long time since she and Naruto had enjoyed some time together, just the two of them. Before Sasuke's return, she and Naruto spent a lot of time together. With Sasuke back in the village, Naruto had much less time for her. She understood, really. Sasuke and Naruto shared a bond that she would never have with either of them. But it still felt nice to be near Naruto again.

Only this time, there wasn't a thread of remorse about Sasuke that poisoned their good mood. They laughed and joked with one another while they waited for Sasuke.

Sakura expected that things would get a little more awkward once Sasuke had come back, but to her surprise, Sasuke was in a good mood – almost jovial. He joined in their laughter, even when the jokes were made at his expense.

And she didn't miss the looks of affection they shared with one another, the sly glances when they thought she wasn't looking. If she had been in this position a couple of years ago, it would have broken her heart. But now she felt nothing but happiness for her teammates and whatever joy they found in each other. No one deserved to be happy more than they did.

Except maybe Itachi.

The thought knocked her good mood down a peg. She was thoroughly confused by Itachi's odd behavior earlier that day. He had made his interest in her pretty clear, yet he seemed to agonize over their physical contact.

He had told her that he was nervous, but she couldn't help but feel like she was doing something wrong. He had seemed angry with her, in spite of the fact that he told her he wasn't.

She knew it was kind of silly, but she worried that his interest in her might be fleeting. Itachi was an important man – the Uchiha clan head. Sure, he could dabble around with her now. He didn't know many other women in the village and Sakura had been a constant in his life since he'd returned to Konoha.

But soon enough he would have to get serious, right? He told Tsunade that he wanted to restore the Uchiha clan. He couldn't possibly do that with Sakura, the civilian born. He would want someone from a powerful clan, someone who would only make the Uchiha bloodline stronger.

"Sakura?" Sasuke asked through a mouthful of rice. "Are you okay?"

She shook her head to clear her thoughts and fixed her eyes on him. His head was cocked to the side and his eyes were piercing.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said, scooping rice into her mouth.

Sasuke grunted in response.

"Is it Itachi?" Naruto asked. "Did he do something to you?"

Sasuke reached over and punched Naruto in the arm. "Why would my brother do anything bad to her?"

Naruto glared at him, rubbing the spot where he had been punched. "I don't know, I'm just looking out for Sakura," he said. Then he turned to face her. "Sakura, you let me know if he does anything to upset you. I'll set him straight."

Sasuke scoffed, "Shut up, moron."

"Guys," Sakura said before they could continue, "There's nothing wrong."

Naruto looked down at his plate sheepishly and Sasuke rolled his eyes, taking another bite of his food.

After a beat of silence, Sasuke asked, "So how _are_ things going with Itachi?"

She set down her chopsticks and brought her thumbnail to her mouth. She chewed on it thoughtfully, unsure of how to answer that question. Sasuke and Itachi were close. Did they ever talk about her? Would Sasuke tell his brother whatever she said to him now?

"I'm not sure."

"Not sure?" Sasuke demanded. "Why not? What are you not sure of?"

"We're just taking things slow, I guess," she answered, a little annoyed that he was being so demanding. This was her private life, after all. She never asked him about his relationship with Naruto.

"Slow?" he asked. "Why slow? Itachi is a good man from a prestigious clan. Why would you want to take things slow?"

" _He_ wants to take things slow, Sasuke," she snapped. "And besides, it's none of your business."

"It _is_ my business," he argued. "Whoever he marries will be the matriarch of _my_ clan. It's Itachi's duty to produce an heir, and he can't do that if you're 'taking things slow.'"

"God, is that why you made that comment about pink-haired babies?" she asked, more than a little annoyed now.

"Yeah, Sasuke, this is a little weird," Naruto said.

"Stay out of this, Naruto," Sasuke snapped.

Sakura crossed her arms and huffed.

"Look, Sakura," Sasuke said. "I've come around to the idea that you two want to be together. Now you need to come around to the idea that you're going to be the Uchiha matriarch. You can't take things slow. The quicker you start having children, the better."

"Oh my God, Sasuke, can you hear yourself?" she asked, officially freaked out. It wasn't that it had never occurred to her that Itachi was the clan head. Of course she'd thought about that before. But she didn't expect Itachi to actual consider her for that. Beside, even if he did, _marriage_? Already? And children! "It's way too soon to be thinking about all that stuff."

"Maybe for anyone else," he argued. "But not for an Uchiha."

"I don't know, Sasuke," Naruto said, braving Sasuke's wrath. "I agree with Sakura on this one. It's way too soon for that."

Sasuke whipped his head toward Naruto and glared at him.

"You should really be having this conversation with your brother," Sakura said. "Not me."

"Fine," he agreed. "I'll speak with Itachi."


	30. Chapter 30

"Pardon?"

"When do you plan on marrying Sakura?"

Itachi blinked away the surprise, but the befuddlement was still inhibiting his ability to form words. Had his brother really just asked him when he was going to marry Sakura?

It wasn't easy to catch Itachi off guard, but he had to hand it to his brother. He was pretty good at doing it.

"We haven't discussed anything like that, Sasuke," Itachi said, suddenly very nervous. Granted, he couldn't imagine anyone other than Sakura being his future wife, but it seemed highly inappropriate to talk about such a thing while he couldn't even kiss her without feeling like he was going to have a heart attack.

"Well, you should," Sasuke said. "How do you expect to rebuild the clan without a wife?"

"It's none of your concern, Sasuke."

Itachi stood up from the kitchen table and turned to leave. It was too early in the morning to be dealing with Sasuke's antics already. But he felt Sasuke's fingers curl around his elbow and yank him roughly back down to his chair.

"It _is_ my concern," he said.

"Then why don't you get married and have children?" Itachi demanded, shrugging his arm free from his brother's grasp. "I'll even defer my status as clan head to you, if that's what you want."

Sasuke's skin flushed and Itachi watched him swallow a lump in his throat. Itachi was well aware that Sasuke's secret relationship with Naruto would never produce him any children. Itachi didn't care about that in the slightest. Whatever made his brother happy was what he wanted for him.

So he knew that Sasuke would refuse to accept the position as clan head.

"It's your rightful position, Itachi," Sasuke said, some of the gruff from his tone missing now.

"It is," Itachi agreed. "Which means that the matter of when I get married and when I have children is solely up to me. If you decide that I am taking too long, you are free to take matters into your own hands. I will gladly give you the position if that time comes."

"But Itachi—"

"Enough, Sasuke," he said firmly. "The only person I will ever be discussing that with is Sakura. Do not bring it up again."

Itachi began to clear their breakfast from the table, ignoring Sasuke's not-so-subtle pouting. It shouldn't have come to him as a surprise that Sasuke was so interested in the restoration of the clan. Itachi wanted that, too.

But it was certainly not a decision to be rushed. Itachi was still young. There was plenty of time to have children in the future.

Sasuke remained at the table while Itachi washed the dishes, watching but saying nothing. Itachi didn't want his brother to be upset with him, and certainly not over something like this. The sensation was vaguely familiar – that he was disappointing Sasuke by ignoring him.

Itachi was well within his rights to refuse to discuss something to personal with him, especially something that should definitely have been discussed with Sakura first. Probably _only_ with Sakura. But Sasuke's concern wasn't exactly unwanted and Itachi didn't like to tell him no.

"Sasuke," Itachi said, drying his hands off with a towel. Sasuke looked up at him. "Do you remember Kabuto?"

Sasuke looked surprised by the mention to the bespectacled medic-nin. "Of course. Why?"

"You are more familiar with him than I am," Itachi said. "Do you think he poses a threat to Konoha?"

Sasuke drummed his fingers on the table. "He only ever seemed interested in serving Orochimaru. I'm not sure what he's been up to since I killed him."

Itachi joined Sasuke back at the table, pulling up the chair across from him. "I tracked him down after he approached Sakura in Toyeiki. I found him in a bunker south of here. It looked like he was continuing Orochimaru's work with human experimentation."

"That's not surprising."

"I think we should ask Tsunade-sama if we can check up on him," Itachi suggested. "The fact that he was trying to create a biological weapon to be used against shinobi is very concerning."

"A mission, you mean?"

"Yeah, a mission," Itachi said. "For the two of us."

Sasuke grinned and Itachi felt a little of his guilt dissipate.

.

"I approve," Tsunade said. "You may leave at your leisure."

Itachi and Sasuke both nodded. A mission with Sasuke was exactly what Itachi needed to get his mind off Sakura and get rid of some of the weirdness between him and Sasuke.

Sasuke had always wanted to tag along with him on missions when they had been younger. Now was a perfect opportunity to bond with him like he had always wanted to when they were children.

"Take Sakura, too," Tsunade added.

"Pardon, Tsunade-sama?" Itachi said.

"Sakura has a vested interest in this mission," she answered. "She'll be able to decipher whatever Kabuto has been up to better than the two of you could. She might even be able to help you with a bit of espionage if she pretends to be accepting his offer."

Itachi drew in a deep breath. Of course he couldn't argue with the Hokage. Her points were valid. But the last thing he wanted was to take Sakura on this mission with him. He couldn't even imagine how uncomfortable it would be for the three of them to spend a length of time in close quarters together.

"Forgive me, Tsunade-sama, but Sakura will slow us down," Itachi said. "She doesn't have the speed that Sasuke and I do."

"Your mission isn't that urgent."

Itachi glanced over at Sasuke, who was grinning. He narrowed his eyes at him, suspecting the worst.

"You're both dismissed."

.

"Why are you so happy about it?" Itachi asked Sasuke. After leaving the Hokage tower they had both headed for the training grounds for another spar. This time, Itachi had chosen not to use his Mangekyou. They had opted to only use taijutsu, in fact, and with Itachi's strength mostly back, he was able to beat Sasuke.

It was a narrowly eked victory, though, Itachi admitted to himself. Sasuke's speed made it very difficult to land direct hits on him and he had to resort to trickery in order to defeat him.

On their way to Ichiraku's afterwards, Sasuke had brought up the fact that Sakura would be going on their mission with him. He seemed far too delighted by it.

"No particular reason," Sasuke answered, munching his food with an open mouth. It reminded Itachi of the way Yamato and Sachi ate. "I just want you to be happy and I know being around Sakura makes you happy."

Itachi rolled his eyes. "I know you aren't that altruistic."

"I'll be sure to give the two of you lots of privacy," Sasuke said with a teasing tone, though Itachi knew he was probably serious.

"You're incorrigible."

Sasuke grinned, but Itachi felt dread brewing in his stomach. He had already begun to feel strange about the blossoming romance between him and Sakura. He couldn't quite place why it made him feel so nervous when she seemed perfectly at ease with him. It was disheartening because he _did_ like her, and he also wanted to push her away.

He realized that it was his lack of control in the situation that made him feel so uneasy. It shouldn't have been a problem. Itachi had lacked control in a lot of things. He did what he could to steer things in his favor. But when it came to Sakura, _she_ did the steering.

The idea of being in her control wasn't really the worst thing he could think of. He almost savored it. Sure, being in someone else's control was dangerous. What if he fell in love with her? She could easily destroy him. But he had a good feeling about her.

He would have to learn to trust her, though.

"Don't look so upset, Itachi," Sasuke said. "It won't be that bad. What are you so worried about?"

Itachi glanced at his brother and saw that he did actually looked concerned now. He wondered what Sasuke's relationship with Naruto was like. Did he ever feel like this? Hopeless and out of control?

Maybe Sasuke had some insight into romance that Itachi could use.

"Have you ever been in love, Sasuke?"

Sasuke blinked as he swallowed a bite of his food. The tense silence that followed was thick, but not unbearable. Itachi genuinely wanted to know and he knew that Sasuke knew that.

"Are you in love with Sakura?" Sasuke asked.

"I don't think so," Itachi said, but he knew it was only a matter of time. He didn't really stand a chance against her. "Not yet, anyway."

"Is that what you're worried about?"

"She intimidates me."

"She intimidates you?" Sasuke laughed.

"Naruto doesn't intimidate you?" Itachi asked. "Not even a little?"

Sasuke closed his mouth immediately and Itachi was amused to see a faint blush on his cheeks. "No, he doesn't."

Itachi didn't pry anymore, even though he was deeply curious. Sasuke might not mind invading Itachi's privacy, but Itachi didn't want to upset Sasuke. If he ever wanted to share details about his relationship with Naruto, he would.

"Why does she intimidate you?" Sasuke asked.

Itachi didn't know how to answer that. Well, he did, but he didn't feel comfortable talking about it with his brother. There were a lot of things about Sakura that were impressive, but none of those were what intimidated him so much. He was intimidated by the physical nature of their relationship and his lack of experience in that area. He wasn't used to lacking experience.

And though he knew that she was also lacking in that experience, she seemed to be much more confident at trying her hand at it. She could flutter her lashes and have him in the palm of her hand.

"I don't know."

Sasuke gave him a disapproving look. "Maybe you should be having this conversation with Sakura," he suggested.

Itachi returned his brother's disapproving look, not amused by the suggestion. So far his brother didn't seem to have any valuable advice.

"Have you had sex with her yet?"

Itachi tried not to flinch. He wasn't a prude (or maybe he was, and that was what the issue with Sakura was), but he certainly didn't want to talk about sex with his little brother.

"Don't you think it's a little soon for that?" he asked.

"God, you and Sakura are cut from the same cloth, aren't you?" Sasuke asked. "It's not too soon for something if you both want it."

"Why were you talking to Sakura about sex?" Itachi demanded, more than a little annoyed with his brother.

"Not sex. Marriage. And children."

"Why were you talking to her about something like that?" Itachi asked angrily.

"For the same reason I was talking to _you_ about it, obviously."

Itachi pressed his lips together in an effort to keep from snapping at him. It was none of Sasuke's business and he shouldn't have been talking about such things with Sakura without Itachi's knowledge.

But he was still curious.

"What did she say?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "She said—"

"Sasuke!"

Itachi and Sasuke both turned at the sound of Naruto's voice and saw him running toward the ramen stand with Sakura in tow behind him. Sakura sat down next to Itachi and smiled warmly at him, sending a surge of warmth through his chest.

"Hey, Itachi," Naruto said. "Sakura and I just spent some time training with Yamato-chan and he asked about you."

"Yeah," Sakura said, chuckling. "He said he didn't want to waste time training with Naruto when he could be training with the best shinobi in the world."

"Me?" Itachi asked.

"Yeah, well," Naruto said. "I chose not to explain to him that _I_ was the one who made our last mission a success. I didn't want to tear down his hero, you know?"

Sakura shot him a look.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Sasuke said dismissively. "We have a mission."

"A mission?" Naruto asked, and Itachi felt a little pang of guilt in his gut seeing how excited the poor blonde looked.

"Not for you," Sasuke said, but his tone wasn't quite as harsh as Itachi had come to expect from his brother. "It's for us and Sakura."

"Me?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah, we're tracking down Kabuto to see what he's up to," Sasuke answered. "Tsunade said we could use your help."

Sakura frowned. "I have to deal with that asshole again?"

"If you don't want to go I'm sure Tsunade-sama would not mind," Itachi said. "Sasuke and I can handle it on our own."

Sasuke kicked him under the counter.

"No, it's alright," Sakura said. "If I go I can pretend to be accepting his offer. It will make your jobs a lot easier."

"That's exactly what Tsunade said," Sasuke said.

"When do we leave?" she asked.

"Whenever you're ready."

She hummed thoughtfully, tapping her finger on her lips. For a moment, Itachi's eyes were glued to her and he found himself entirely incapable of looking away. There it was again – that lack of control.

"Well, I have some things to do today," she said. "And if I'll be leaving for some time I'll need to get some groceries for Ino. But I suppose we could leave first thing in the morning."

"Sounds like a plan," Sasuke said, leaning back on his stool. He turned to face Naruto and saw him hunched over with his arms crossed. "Don't pout, Naruto. We won't be gone long."

Naruto merely huffed in response.

"I guess I should get going, then," Sakura said, getting to her feet. Itachi let his eyes linger on the expanse of her thighs. He knew he had looked for just a second too long and that she was bound to have noticed. It was the same thing she had slapped him for in this very ramen stand just over a month ago.

"Why don't you go with her, Itachi," said Sasuke. Itachi didn't need to look at him to know he was smirking.

"Oh!" she exclaimed. "Yes, the company would be nice."

She was smiling at him expectantly and even though he wanted to, he wouldn't have considered saying no to her.

"Okay."

Her smile widened and she took a hold of his hand and pulled him off his stool.

.

Grocery shopping with Sakura was a lot more appealing than it sounded. Sakura was from the civilian district, so almost everyone seemed to know her. They waved and smiled at her as they passed, sometimes even stopping her for chitchat. Itachi usually avoided the civilian district because it was where he received the coldest stares for his forgiven, but not forgotten crimes.

But with Sakura beside him, it felt much warmer. They hardly paid any attention to him at all.

Which gave him plenty of opportunities to watch her. She seemed to be very in her element here, flitting between the market stalls, chatting with the shopkeepers. It was even harder to keep his eyes off her than normal.

When she had a full sack of produce in one hand, they began walking back toward the center of the market (for milk, she had said). Their arms were nearly touching and Itachi considered reaching out to grab her hand and entwine their fingers together. That was something he could handle. Handholding in a public place was far more manageable than making out in her bedroom.

But just when he'd gathered the courage to touch her slender fingers with his, she turned toward him, shoving the produce into his arms.

"Will you hold this for a second?" she asked. "I'll be right back."

Again, it did not cross his mind to say no to her, so he watched her disappear behind a stall around the corner. He felt quite awkward standing in the middle of the market stalls by himself. He shifted the bag of produce in his arms and waited, pretending that he didn't notice the stares and whispers of the civilians who had more courage to single him out now that Sakura was no longer with him.

Luckily, she did not keep him waiting for long. When she came back around the corner, she was smiling brightly with two sticks of dango in her hands.

"Here you go," she said cheerily, extending one of the sticks toward him.

He accepted it with caution, because a pretty girl handing him one of his favorite snacks almost seemed like a trap.

"Sasuke told me it's your favorite," she said, taking back the bag of produce from him. "And this place makes the best dango in Konoha."

"Thank you," he said quietly.

They fell into step again and it was too late to hold her hand now that she had the bag of produce in one and the stick of dango in the other. The normalcy of their current situation struck an odd chord in Itachi's heart. It was such a mundane thing – grocery shopping. Was it normal to feel so high, so infinite while doing something so essentially boring?

They finished their dango as they walked and then Sakura purchased her carton of milk. They were finished with their shopping, according to Sakura, but she stopped at several more stalls on their way out, admiring trinkets and sundries but purchasing nothing else.

A group of loud children ran through the street and Itachi pulled Sakura gently out of the way before they could crash into her. She was a kunoichi, and he knew that she didn't need his help to avoid a couple of civilian children, but he couldn't resist the opportunity to touch her.

She didn't seem to mind and smiled up at him in a disarmingly charming way. "Thank you," she said, and before he could stop himself, he leaned down and pressed a quick kiss to her lips.

"You're welcome," he said with a smile of his own.

She seemed surprised by the kiss, but his heart soared when her smile widened into something genuinely happy and amused.

He walked her home, listening to her chatter away about her shifts at the hospital and her mini training session with Yamato and Naruto earlier that day. When crowds of people longer surrounded them and the sun had just begun to dip below the horizon, Itachi found the courage to reach out and take her hand.

She seemed surprised again, but she immediately interlaced their fingers and moved closer to him as they walked. Itachi had never held hands with a girl before, and he wasn't exactly sure if this was how it always went, but Sakura pressed very close to him, nearly curling her body around the length of his arm. He had no idea that something as inherently innocent as handholding could feel so intimate.

It struck him again that there was something that she wanted from him that he wasn't able to give her. These issues he had with intimacy were not her problems and he felt a surge of guilt for having to deny her something that she wanted.

"Sakura," he began as they approached her front door.

She fumbled with her keys for a minute before finding the right one and sliding it into the lock. He took the parcels from her arms so that she could open the door and helped her carry them inside.

There were many things he wanted to tell her, and he was aware that it was more out of a desire to assuage his own guilt than for her. She didn't seem even slightly upset by anything right now. He watched her unpack her purchases and hum lightly to herself.

She caught his eye for a moment and grinned before looking away. "Would you like some tea?" she asked.

He knew what Sakura wanted. She was always pressing their physical limits. She wanted sex. But what if that was all she wanted? What if she didn't want a relationship or even a friendship? Would he be able to give her that? The one thing he could admit he was afraid of?

"You're awfully quiet today, Itachi," she mused, still humming, still flitting around her kitchen like a hummingbird.

He grabbed her hand just as she was reaching for the pantry door and jerked her roughly toward him. He didn't know why he was so rough and the look of confusion and annoyance that flashed across Sakura's face slammed him back down to reality.

"What's wrong with you?" she asked, and her tone wasn't as harsh as Itachi thought it should have been. Her eyes were bright and a little angry as they glared up into his and for a reason unknown to him he felt to urge to activate his Sharingan.

"Tell me what you want, Sakura," he said, surprised by the demanding quality to his voice.

"Pardon?"

"From me," he clarified. "What do you want from me?"

She tugged her arm away from him, but he held onto it.

"Why are you asking me that?"

He let go of her arm because there was a sudden look of fear and anxiety on her face that made him feel uncomfortable. But as soon as he let her go she was grabbing onto his arm and guiding him toward the kitchen table.

"Itachi, what's wrong?"

He felt a surge of warmth in his chest, amazed that she would be concerned for him while he was acting so churlish.

But he also wanted her to answer the question.

"I have a duty to my clan, Sakura," he began and his nerves made his skin feel prickly. "I will have to produce an heir. I'll have to marry the next Uchiha matriarch."

She looked down at her feet with a pained expression. But then something in her face hardened and she looked back up at him with blazing eyes.

"Sasuke brought that up as well," she said and it made Itachi a little angry that she didn't appear to be nervous about talking about such a thing. How could she be so calm and collected while he was a quivering mess?

"I told him not to speak to you about it anymore," he said as calmly as he could manage.

She shrugged, but he noticed that whatever resolve she had just found couldn't mask the sadness that flickered in her eyes. "Well, I understand," she said. "I'm civilian born I don't know anything about what it means to be part of a clan."

"What?" he asked, dumfounded. There seemed to be an odd buzzing in his head.

"I can't expect you to put aside your clan duties for me," she said and the more she spoke the more confused he became.

Itachi felt himself reeling, completely unable to form thoughts, let alone words.

She was blushing furiously and twisting her hands together in her lap. "I really do like you, though," she said, and damn, she looked so sad it broke his heart. "I guess I was just hoping that you'd, I don't know, want to be with me until you found someone else suitable for being your wife."

It was like all of the breath had been sucked from his body. Never in a million years had he thought she would feel that way. A horrifying lack of communication was to blame for this, he realized, and he felt a strange wistfulness wondering what might have happened if he'd been more up front with her from the beginning.

"Sakura, I don't need anyone's approval to marry someone," he said, a little more sure of himself than he was a few moments ago. "And not that it matters, but you have Sasuke's approval."

She looked up at him through her lashes and he couldn't help but smile because it was nice to have their roles reversed and for _her_ to be the nervous one. She opened her mouth to speak again, but he held up a hand to stop her.

"I like you, too," he continued. "And I do want to be with you - not just until someone better comes along."

She looked genuinely surprised and he wondered what was going on in her head. Was she imagining what it would be like to be his wife? But he remembered what Sasuke had said – that Sakura felt it was too soon to be talking about marriage or children. And of course he agreed with her.

"Sakura, why didn't you say anything about that before?" he asked.

She still looked nervous, and even though he knew how uncomfortable that felt, he couldn't help but feel a little vindicated by it. "You said you wanted to take things slow," she said. "And I didn't know what you wanted from me. I didn't want to press the issue because I would have been happy with whatever you wanted."

He laughed at her absurdity, provoking a heated glare from her. "Really?" he asked. "You would have been happy if I just had a careless fling with you and then married some random clan girl?"

"Well, if that was my only option…"

He laughed again. "You were saving your first kiss for Sasuke so that it would be special and you'd be willing to sleep with me even if you knew I was just using you."

She crossed her arms and glared at him, but he was far too amused with her to be chided by it. "You started it, you know," she said. "With all the looks and the touching. You gave me _urges_."

He was taken aback by her frankness and gave her a not-so-subtle once over.

"You're such a tease, Itachi," she said, sidling up next to him until he could feel her breath on his face. Her closeness was intoxicating – he could feel the heat from her body. "You wanted to take things slow, but I believe we just had a discussion about whether or not I'd be a suitable matriarch for your clan."

"You brought that up," he pointed out.

She promptly ignored him. "I want to know why you seem so opposed to being physical with me."

He reached out and latched his fingers around her neck, gently brushing across her pulse point with the pad of his thumb. She was took a step forward, forcing Itachi to sit down in the chair behind him. She hovered over his chair and it would be easy to pull her down and have her wrap her beautifully long legs around his waist.

"I'm not opposed to that," he said, trying his best to mean it.

She bent down and pressed a kiss to his mouth. She tasted sweet like dango. He reached up and cupped her cheek, marveling in the smoothness of her skin and the sinful way she moved her lips against his.

She would be the death of him.


	31. Chapter 31

Sakura never imagined herself as a seductress. In fact, in her wildest fantasies, she was quite the opposite. In her genin years, she always imagined Sasuke, rough and domineering, yet tender at the same time. He would kiss her, touch her, hold her up against him.

It wouldn't have been hard to replace those images of Sasuke with Itachi. They were certainly similar enough in appearance.

But that wouldn't have been nearly as much fun as what she was doing now.

She was aware that he was rattled by her sexual advances. The old Sakura would have been slightly offended by this, but she found his nervousness charming. He wanted her. She knew that. And he had admitted to her that he was worried he would disappoint her. Incredible! How could he think such a thing?

Being disappointed was the last thing on her mind. In fact, she couldn't even be too worried about disappointing _him_ because his reaction to her every touch was so electric and satisfying.

She had moved fully into his lap now, a place that she was quickly becoming enamored with. She felt oddly powerful with the mighty Itachi Uchiha underneath her. She could feel the hardened muscles of his thighs under hers. She could feel his growing length up under her center.

She was kissing him, running her hands over his chest, his arms, his back, touching everything she could reach. It felt so _good_. She knew he felt it, too. He was trembling beneath her. She could feel it in his feather light touches along her waist and legs. He was going to pull away soon, like he always did at this point. She knew he would start to feel overwhelmed.

But when he pulled away from her, she ground her hips down into his lap, groaning at the friction, the sensation. Whatever he had been about to say was swallowed up by a groan of his own, his fingers tightening on her thighs.

She pressed another kiss to his lips and then began to trail them across his jaw and down his neck.

"Sakura," he breathed, and she relished in the way his breath seemed to catch in his throat. "Sakura, not in the kitchen."

She smiled against his neck and pulled away to look at him. "Where, then?"

But when she saw his face, the eyes that were staring back at her were red and narrow, causing a deep chill to run up her spine. She scrambled off of him, nearly falling onto the floor. It will silly to still be afraid of him, and she knew it. But she just couldn't shake her ingrained fear of the Sharingan.

"Sakura?"

She felt her cheeks flushing and she dusted invisible dirt from her skirt. "Sorry," she said. "I just… I—"

He stood up and extended his hand to her, pulling her into his chest. It was safe there because she couldn't see his eyes. He stroked her hair for a moment, comforting her, though Sakura didn't really need it. It was a gut reaction more than anything else, but he must have seen the wild fear in her eyes. He couldn't have missed it with his Sharingan activated.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

Now that she knew it was active, she was a little braver about peering into his Sharingan. She caught his eye, staring into their depths, mesmerized by the tomoe and the way they appeared so sharply in his irises. It was not his Mangekyou, which she knew was a different shape, more complicated and intricate. But it was terrifyingly beautiful, and even though she wanted to look away, she held his gaze anyway – just to prove to herself that she could.

She reached up and touched the skin under his eye, noticing that the deep lines there seemed to have faded a little. It was exhilarating to look into those eyes knowing exactly what they were capable of doing. Those eyes, that bloodline limit, the powerful Uchiha name. He might as well have been a mythical figure standing in her kitchen.

"You really are something special, Itachi-kun."

His lips quirked into a small smile and she dropped her gaze to his mouth.

"I lied to you the other day," he said. "When you asked me if I was angry with you."

She quirked a brow at him as he ran his hands down the length of her arms and took ahold of her hands. He brought both her palms to his chest and held them there.

"I was angry that you kept calling me Itachi-san," he said, answering her unasked question. "Since we were alone."

Sakura had realized how important to him the way she addressed him was. In her office he had mentioned how he did not like when she was in 'medic mode,' presumably because of the formal way she addressed him. He had even been concerned about it their very first day together in Toyeiki when they were enemies.

"Why didn't you tell me, Uchiha-san?"

His smile widened at her affectionate teasing. "Because, Sakura-hime, I already felt guilty for making you come all that way to heal me."

"Hmm," she said. "Perhaps it _was_ disrespectful for me to be addressing the clan head in such a way. It won't happen again, Uchiha-sama."

"I prefer Itachi-kun."

She grinned and fisted his shirt up in her fists, pulling him down so that she could press a quick kiss to his lips. "Then I insist you call me Sakura-chan."

"I will call you Sakura."

"Sakura-hime."

"That's not very fitting, is it, Sakura of civilian birth?"

She pulled away from him, crossing her arms with an exaggerated pout.

"Okay, okay," he said, pulling at her arms with an infectious grin that Sakura tried very hard not to be affected by. "Don't be upset, hime."

She let him pull her back into his embrace and settled her head against the crook of his shoulder. She sighed contentedly and wrapped her arms around his waist. It seemed like the opportunity for sex had been forgotten, and Sakura wasn't about to press that issue with him. Now that she knew his true intentions with her, she felt more comfortable with taking things at his pace. In fact, she realized that she should have been comfortable with that in the first place.

She hadn't been lying to him when she said she would have been happy to be used by him. It wasn't the best case scenario, obviously, but at a certain point Sakura had begun to prioritize his happiness over her own. Sakura had lived a fairly sheltered and warm, if a little dull, life. Itachi had been robbed of such an opportunity, and she felt the need now to do whatever it took to make him happy.

"Thank you for going shopping with me, Itachi-kun," she said.

"Of course, hime," he said, kissing the top of her head.

.

Itachi had left shortly after their conversation, needing to pack for their mission the next morning. Sakura had a couple of errands to finish anyway, but she was sad to see him off, even knowing she would be seeing him again in less than twelve hours.

The trio left bright and early the next morning with little conversation. Itachi, Sakura noticed, had opted to wear his ANBU uniform. She hadn't realized that he still had one (or maybe it was a new one). It wasn't much different than what he regularly wore, but Sakura couldn't keep her eyes off him.

Sasuke noticed her obvious staring and fell back beside her as they ran through the trees. Itachi was several yards ahead of them, leading the way.

"Take a picture, Sakura," he teased. "It'll last longer."

"He looks good in his ANBU uniform, doesn't he?" she replied with a grin.

Sasuke rolled his eyes, but he looked amused. "Did you have fun running errands with him?"

Neither of them missed the way Itachi paused for a beat before springing off the branch he landed on.

"Not really," she said with a shrug. "He was very handsy. I kept catching him trying to sneak a peek up my skirt. And I'm pretty sure he used his Sharingan to try to see through my clothes."

Sasuke laughed at her merciless teasing, even when they saw Itachi's posture tense up and his steps falter a bit.

"What a pervert," Sasuke said.

Sakura giggled.

"We're on a mission," Itachi said, keeping his eyes forward. "And you two should conduct yourselves professionally."

Sakura giggled again and cast a glance at Sasuke who was smirking.

"Yes, Uchiha-sama," she said with mock reverence.

They continued running in silence for a while before Sakura remembered exactly how far this journey would be. When she had come to Toyeiki the first time she had not stopped, but ran until she couldn't run anymore. It seemed like Itachi and Sasuke wanted to do the same, only they were much quicker than she was.

In fact, she could already tell that her slowness was creating some distance between them. Every so often they would slow down so that she could catch up, only to speed back up again.

Neither of them spoke up about it, but she could tell they were a little annoyed. If there was anything she could have done about it…

Still, she pressed herself to run faster, to keep up with them. It was the least she could do.

After an excruciating hour, Itachi halted to a stop, turning back toward his teammates. Sasuke stopped beside him and Sakura stopped behind him, trying her best not to pant and double over from exhaustion.

"There's a town up ahead," he said, giving her a critical eye. "We'll stop there for the night. We should reach Kabuto's bunker by tomorrow afternoon."

Sasuke nodded.

"Are you alright, Sakura?" Itachi asked. Both Uchiha men turned their gazes to her. She might not have been from a prestigious clan or have kyuubi chakra, but Sakura thought she did a pretty good job of keeping up with them. For a civilian born.

"Would you like me to carry you the rest of the way?" he continued.

She knew he was teasing her. It was payback for her earlier ribbing. But that didn't mean she couldn't enjoy it.

"Yes, that would be nice, Uchiha-sama," she said, climbing uninvited onto his back. She half expected him to throw her off, or at least question her silly decision. But she squealed and clung tighter to him when he darted off without warning.

She pressed her face into the back of his neck as he ran, delighting when her breath sent shivers up his spine. If she knew that Sasuke wasn't close behind them, she would have kissed his neck.

"You do look good in your uniform, Itachi-kun," she whispered into the shell of his ear. His grip on her thighs tightened.

When they approached the town and made a beeline for the only inn, Sasuke was the one who approached the innkeeper.

"We'd like two rooms," he said.

"One room," Itachi corrected.

Sasuke turned around to glare at his brother. "I'm not sharing a room with you two."

"You and Sakura can take the beds," he responded. "I will take the floor."

Sasuke didn't argue, but he didn't look pleased with the arrangement. "Fine," he said. "But I'm going to the tavern to see what information I can scrounge up."

"Good idea," Itachi said, "We'll go with you."

.

This was a job Sakura was actually well suited for. She was charming and personable and people wanted to be close to her. It made it quite easy for her to get information from them.

Itachi and Sasuke, on the other hand, were far too intimidating to be effective at it, so she had banished them to the back table at the tavern so that she could sit at the bar and attract men to extract information from.

It worked to some extent. Men approached her, drawn in by her exotic pink hair, and she let them. She curbed those who had no information about Kabuto, but was secretly enjoying the attention. Especially from Itachi, whose Sharingan had been activated since the moment the first man had approached her.

She knew it was merely a surface jealousy. She wouldn't particularly enjoy watching Itachi being swarmed by women, but she wouldn't worry too much about it. He knew it was for the mission. And she could handle herself.

But it wasn't until a rough looking man wearing a Stone headband with a slash through it approached her that she became somewhat nervous. He was quite a long way from home, and probably a dangerous man.

"I know you," he said with a lecherous grin, taking the stool beside hers. "You're the Hokage's apprentice."

"Ah," she responded as casually as she could. "The pink hair gave it away, huh?"

"You're a long way from Konoha," he pointed out. It was true, but she was still within Fire's borders so it wasn't unlikely for her to be here.

"And you're a long way from Stone."

He grinned and leaned in closer to her, grabbing her thigh with a sweaty palm. She could smell the alcohol on his breath and thanked her lucky stars for that. His intoxication would make it much easier to extract information from him. "I'm here on official business," he said.

"Oh yeah?" she asked, leaning into his touch in spite of how repulsive she found it. "What official business could a missing-nin from Stone have in Fire country?"

"Now, now, sweetheart," he said in a patronizingly slow voice. "You expect me to just go giving away all my secrets to the Hokage's apprentice?"

"Secrets?" she asked with a sly smile. "I'm really good at keeping secrets."

He smiled back. "I doubt that."

She took a sip of her drink, using her chakra to burn off any alcohol in her system. It was a good idea for him to think she was drunk, but it wasn't a good idea to actually be drunk.

"Listen," he said. "I've got a room at the inn. You're welcome to join me there."

She smiled and looked away from him demurely. That was a little more than she was willing to do for some information – especially since she didn't even know if it would be useful. "I have my own room, thank you," she replied.

His hand crept up higher on her thigh. "Come on," he urged. "I can show you a good time. Make you feel real good." She swallowed nervously as his hand crept even higher and then when his fingers finally brushed against her clothed, albeit with thin spandex, sex, she gripped his forearm and squeezed it tightly, shattering the bones in his wrist with her chakra-enhanced strength.

He howled in pain and kicked her stool over knocking her to the floor. "You bitch!" She scrambled backwards as he came toward her again, clutching his wrist with his uninjured hand.

Sasuke was suddenly between them with his back to her and she didn't need to see his face to know his Sharingan was activated. She felt Itachi's hands on her arms as he helped her into a standing position. She leaned back into his chest.

"Did he hurt you?" he murmured low in her ear. She shook her head.

"Does he have the information we need, Sakura?" Sasuke asked.

"I don't know."

"Hey, I don't want any trouble," the man said. "She attacked me first."

A beat of silence followed, no one quite sure what to do.

"We're leaving," Itachi finally said.

.

"He didn't know anything about Kabuto, I think," Sakura explained once they were safely back in their room at the inn. She had her legs stretched out across one of the single beds while Sasuke and Itachi sat next to each other on the other bed across from her. "He mentioned he was here on official business, but I think he was just a pervert trying to cop a feel."

"Not just trying," Sasuke mumbled.

Sakura felt a hot blush rising in her cheeks. "You saw that?"

"Of course we did," he said. "I thought Itachi was going to explode. I'm impressed that he managed to keep his cool until that bastard knocked you off your seat."

Sakura locked eyes with Itachi who looked far more upset than Sakura believed he should. It had been unpleasant, of course, but it wasn't as though he had hurt her.

"Aw, look at you all concerned," she teased.

"Sakura…"

"Sakura- _hime_."

He glared at her, making her burst into a fit of giggles.

"You don't seem nearly concerned enough about what just happened," he said.

She rolled her eyes. "I'm a kunoichi. I'm used to it. Besides," she said. "I broke his wrist. That makes us even as far as I'm concerned."

"I suppose," he conceded, but Sakura could tell that he didn't quite see it that way.

"Alright," Sasuke said, giving his brother's shoulders a good shove. "Get off the bed. I'm going to sleep now."

Itachi looked a little miffed and Sakura grinned at his expression. But he didn't make a fuss. He unfurled his bedroll between the two beds with a stony look before crawling inside.

"Itachi, you can have my bed," she said, her heart breaking a little watching him slide into the sad bundle of cloth that probably did very little to cushion him against the hardwood floors. "I'll sleep on the floor."

"No."

"No?"

Itachi reached up and yanked the chain on the lamp, casting darkness around the room. "Goodnight, Sakura," he said.

Sakura's eyes widened a little. She wasn't spoiled by any means, but she certainly didn't like to be told no. And ignored on top of that! She tossed her covers aside and stepped down onto his bedroll. She could see in the dim light cast through the window that he was glaring at her again, but she didn't care.

She crawled in beside him, curling her body around his. She felt him stiffen up immediately, and though it was a little bit of a blow to her ego, she was satisfied by how rattled he seemed to be.

"What are you doing?" he hissed.

"Sleeping on the floor."

"Sakura," he said, his tone low and warning.

"We are so getting two rooms on the way back," Sasuke said.

"If it bothers you," she said to Itachi, "You can sleep in the bed."

And she could see that he was indeed bothered by it – the intimacy of sleeping next to her was probably too much for him at this point. Certainly Sasuke's presence added an uncomfortable note to the mix as well.

"Get back in the bed, Sakura."

"No."

She almost felt a little guilty and if she didn't think he'd be uncomfortable with it, she would gladly have crawled into the bed with him. They were perfectly still for a moment, Sakura's chest pressed snugly against his strong back. She could easily have fallen asleep against him, she thought.

But eventually, when he correctly assumed that she would not be moving, he slid out of the bedroll and up into the bed. Grinning triumphantly (and missing the heat of his body), Sakura fell asleep.

.

The next morning they were back on the road again. Itachi had avoided speaking to her for most of the morning and just seemed to be in a bad mood. Sasuke also seemed to be aware of his mood and gave him a wide berth. Sakura took his lead (he knew Itachi much better than she did) and gave the elder Uchiha some space as well.

She couldn't help but think that she was the reason for his sour mood. Had forcing him to sleep in the bed been a bit too much? It hardly seemed fair for him to be angry about that since he had intended to do the very same thing to her.

Or maybe he was still upset about the Stone-nin touching her. Sakura didn't think it had been a big deal, but Itachi had seemed overly concerned about it. But what was the point in agonizing over it? What's done is done, she thought. They couldn't do anything about it now.

Unfortunately, she had plenty of time to stew on it, though. They had already been running for several hours in complete silence – horribly tense silence. If Sasuke hadn't been with them, she might have tried to talk to him, but all she could do was stare at his back several paces ahead of her.

His posture was rigid and tense and he looked a lot more like the Itachi she had met in Toyeiki – the one she should have been afraid of. In fact, she thought, she certainly wouldn't have wanted to cross his path as an enemy now. Even without being able to see his face, he was downright terrifying.

"Sakura," Sasuke said, breaking the silence with a quiet voice. He was speaking only to her, but they both knew Itachi could hear them. "I have a favor to ask you when we get back to Konoha."

She flicked her eyes over to him. He was looking straight ahead as he ran alongside her, his expression unreadable.

"What is it, Sasuke?"

"You are close with Tsunade-sama," he ventured. "I was wondering if maybe you could convince her to grant citizenship to Suigetsu and Juugo."

"Who?"

"The shinobi who were with me when I planned on killing Itachi," he said.

"Oh," she responded dryly. "When you kidnapped me."

"Right," he said, though he didn't seem very apologetic. "If I had known you had the hots for my brother back then I would have chosen a different medic."

"I didn't have the hots for your brother back then."

"Sure."

She glared at him before casting a glance at Itachi who seemed to be paying them no attention, but she knew he was still listening.

"Do they _want_ to be citizens of Konoha?" she asked.

"They just want a place to call home," he answered. "They suffered a lot more than I did with Orochimaru. They are powerful shinobi who will be great assets to Konoha."

She considered that more a moment – that they were not actually missing-nin, but people that had been experimented on by Orochimaru. She wasn't particularly fond of them after being kidnapped, but they hadn't hurt her. They didn't deserve to be outcasts.

"You care about them."

"They were my teammates," he said with a shrug. "The same as you and Naruto."

She didn't know why that made her feel angry. It shouldn't have, because she knew that in whatever weird way it was, Sasuke cared about her. But he had left the village, told them for forget about him, and made no attempt to be their friend. Yet for these two he would cash in a favor and make peace with them.

Was Naruto aware of this? Did he care that after everything he'd put them through, Sasuke seemed to care more for these two random shinobi than he did for his own childhood friends?

He was looking at her with curiosity and a little speck of hope that made him look very childlike. She felt sick to her stomach for a second, but she pushed that feeling down.

"I'll see what I can do, Sasuke," she said.

"Thank you."

.

After several more hours of running, the sun was high in the afternoon sky and beat down an incredible heat on the trio. Sakura was beginning to feel exhaustion again, hardly able to keep up with the impossibly fast Uchihas.

In the last hour and half they'd been running, Sakura noticed that Itachi's mood seemed to have picked up. He no longer seemed quite as tense and occasionally he would turn his head to look back at her and Sasuke. His Sharingan was activated, so Sakura made a point to catch his eye each time she could. He hadn't seemed to notice the other day when they'd been making out in her kitchen that she looked directly into his bloodline limit.

She thought maybe he had forgotten that she had ever been afraid of his eyes.

But the last time he turned and caught her eye, she noticed his eyes were their usual coal black. He halted to a stop.

"We're here," he said.

Sakura suddenly became very nervous because she wasn't particularly interested in facing Kabuto again. She wasn't exactly afraid. She had Itachi and Sasuke to back her up and that was more than enough.

But she had a crucial part to play now. She would have to exercise her acting chops. Would she be able to fool Kabuto? She had been adamant that she would never join him. Why would he believe she had randomly changed her mind?

"Are you alright, Sakura?" Itachi asked.

She nodded, but she definitely didn't feel alright.

"Let's go."


	32. Chapter 32

Kabuto's bunker was empty. It didn't come as a surprise to Itachi. It had been several months, almost half a year, since he had been there. Still, though, he hadn't expected it to be so thoroughly cleaned out.

"When Orochimaru left bases behind he always left them furnished," Sasuke said, peering through the cell bars into the dusty but otherwise empty rooms. "Sometimes even with prisoners. I've never seen one cleaned out like this."

"Whatever he was working on here must have been important," Itachi said. He looked over at Sakura who was running her finger through some dust on a nearby bookshelf. He watched her scrape some of it into a glass tube and push a rubber stopper into it.

When she caught him watching her, she tossed him a similar tube. "If you find any kind of substance – running water, a puddle, anything – collect some of it. I'll analyze it when we get back to Konoha."

She handed a couple of tubes to Sasuke as well. Itachi was a bit impressed with her foresight. He had assumed that this would be a dead end, but maybe her research would give them another lead.

"What are you hoping to find in these samples?" Sasuke asked.

"I don't know," she answered, "But if this was where Kabuto created that disease, there could be any number of things in the samples. Even in the air."

Itachi didn't think the air would harbor much of anything. Kabuto was a highly skilled medical shinobi – he wouldn't have allowed the air in his bunker to be contaminated.

But, Itachi thought, whoever cleaned out the bunker might have.

"That reminds me," she continued. "When we get back to the inn, I'll need to check all of our lungs. Especially yours, Itachi. Can't risk you getting sick right now."

After a rigorous amount of searching, collecting samples, and careful exploring of the bunker, Itachi made the decision to head back to Konoha. Their mission, while not a failure exactly, had been unproductive. Their only lead now was whatever clues were hidden in the collected samples.

Itachi kept the lead as they ran back toward the inn they had stayed in that night. He couldn't deny that he was still in a bad mood, and he hated himself for it. He wasn't the kind of man to let his behavior be affected by his emotions, but he just couldn't shake the coldness he felt.

Though Sakura's teasing the day prior had been affectionate and not meant to rile him up, he found himself annoyed with her. And with Sasuke as well, for encouraging her. It was one thing for her to say things like that in the privacy of the village. But when they were on a mission, in their uniforms, it was highly unacceptable to behave in such a way.

But she _had_ dropped it when he asked her to.

He didn't want to feel annoyed with her. But she was making it very hard. At the tavern he had gotten the sense that she was enjoying the fact that he was quite obviously jealous. Well, maybe jealousy wasn't the right word. He definitely did not like watching men hit on her, but Sasuke didn't seem to enjoy it very much either. It was the way she leaned into their touches, let them whisper in her ear, and smiled at them with brightness that should have been reserved for _him_.

Of course he realized how ridiculous that was. She was very good at what she was doing, and it was for the good of the mission. She didn't mean any harm by it, even if she did revel in his reaction to it.

It wasn't until that Stone-nin touched her that a spark of very real, very painful jealousy burst in his chest. It was not Sakura's fault in any capacity, though he didn't feel her reaction was violent or angry enough. He had touched her in an incredibly intimate way. She had slapped him for merely looking at her, yet this guy with the audacity to touch her so grotesquely got off with just a broken wrist?

That man was scum, and Itachi knew it. But he had a courage that Itachi was severely lacking in. He saw what he wanted and he just took it without asking. Granted, it had not been welcome, but what made him able to just reach out and touch her – a stranger to him? How could he do such a thing while Itachi shook like a leaf just _thinking_ about her?

If Itachi attempted to touch her like that, she would not break his wrist. In fact, she would welcome the advance. He knew it. She made it very clear. So why was he so afraid to do it?

"We're getting two rooms this time," Sasuke said once the small town was just coming into view on the horizon.

"Fine," Itachi said.

.

"Sakura can have the single," Itachi said, passing the room key to her. "You and I can take the double."

"No way," Sasuke said. "I want the single."

"Sasuke, be a gentleman."

"Whoa," Sakura said, pressing the key into Sasuke's hand. " _I_ will be the gentleman. Enjoy your single room, Sasuke-kun."

"I will," he said, sticking out his tongue at Itachi.

The look on his face must have been livid, because Sasuke immediately bolted into his room while Sakura withered and shrank away from him.

He took that moment to study her. She looked absolutely exhausted. It must have been difficult for her to keep up their pace. He remembered how slow she had been several months ago and he doubted her speed had improved very much since then.

He felt a pang of guilt for forcing her to keep up a pace she was likely not comfortable with, and then for feeling so annoyed with her when she hadn't really done anything wrong.

Sharing a room with her wouldn't be too bad, he though. They had two separate beds, fortunately.

"I'll be happy to have a bed this time," she said, grinning at him as he unlocked the door to their shared room. "I can't believe you made me sleep on the floor."

He glared at her, not in the mood to be amused.

"I call first shower," she said as soon as the door was open. She disappeared into the bathroom, leaving Itachi alone.

And he was very grateful for the reprieve from her. He had thought that after their conversation in her kitchen things would feel different, better. He thought that maybe he could be smoother, more like the man she thought he was, or wanted him to be, or whatever iteration of Itachi was the one that could kiss her whenever he wanted to.

They had made real progress. They had spoken about a potential future. Their relationship was one that could feasibly work. One that they both wanted.

But nothing did feel different. He still felt nervous. He still felt like he was going insane. He knew what his next step was. He had to put moves on her. Itachi didn't know any moves. Itachi had never used moves before. For the millionth time, he lamented over how he had no clue what he was doing.

He rifled through his pack while he listened to the sounds of the water running. He tried not to imagine Sakura in the shower, naked and soapy. Would she be angry if he joined her? Would she pause her routine to let him touch her and kiss her?

He felt a hot blush rising in his cheeks as he pulled out his change of clothes and a couple bags of tea. He brewed some tea for the both of them, letting it steep while she showered.

When she finally emerged from the bathroom, he was both relieved and disappointed to see that she was not draped in nothing but a towel, but had changed into another of Naruto's shirts and a pair of spandex shorts just barely long enough to peek out from beneath the hem of her shirt.

"All yours, Uchiha-sama," she said, ringing out her wet hair with a towel. "Oh, you made tea. Thank you."

He had placed two mugs on the nightstand between the beds and had taken a seat on the bed closest to the door. He felt a mixture of shock and annoyance when she picked up the mug on his side, the one half empty, the one that was clearly _his_ , and took a generous sip.

"Peppermint is quickly becoming my favorite tea, Itachi-kun," she said, pressing his mug into his hands and then kissing his forehead affectionately. He set the mug aside and clenched his teeth. She smelled deliciously sweet and clean, and a few droplets of water from her hair splashed down onto his hands, which were fisted tightly over his knees.

Moves. He needed to show her some moves.

He lashed out his hand and caught one of her wrists and brought her hand to his face. He kissed her palm tenderly before standing up and looming over her with clear intent. He pushed her back until her legs hit the bed behind her and she crashed down onto it.

The look of shock on her face greatly amused him, and the image of her sprawled out on the bed before him, hair haloed around her made him want to activate his Sharingan.

And well, she had seemed much more tolerant of that lately, so he did. He let his eyes bleed into red, roving them over her body before letting them settle back on her face. Her eyes had widened, not just a little. She looked innocent and adorable, though he knew that she was anything but innocent.

She didn't look away from him, and he saw the determined set of her jaw, the way her brow furrowed and unfurrowed. She was still uncomfortable with it, but she wasn't afraid of him.

He leaned down, hovering over her with his hands pressed down into the mattress on either side of her head. He watched her close her eyes – she wanted him to kiss her. She wriggled beneath him, but it had no effect. He was not touching her. When their lips were only a hair apart, not touching unless either of them made even the tiniest motion to, he whispered, "Try not to get into any trouble while I'm in the shower."

And then he was off her, retreating into the safety of the bathroom with his heart hammering in his chest.

But it wasn't really much safer in there. Her scent lingered in the damp air and her clothes were piled up carelessly by the door – a reminder that she had just been naked in the very spot he was standing.

Was she in the other room now, imagining him naked in here? Was she daydreaming about kissing him? Was she even thinking about him at all?

Surely she would be. Itachi considered his brash actions a moment of complete bravery on his part. _She_ did the grabbing, the kissing, the teasing. But this time he had turned the tables on her. Would she recognize that for what it was – a move? He felt silly all of a sudden, for being so smitten and so nervous.

He was Itachi Uchiha. He fought in a war when he was only four years old. He graduated the academy at age seven and joined ANBU by eleven. He was a genius, a prodigy. There was no game he would let Sakura Haruno best him at.

With renewed determination, Itachi quickly finished his shower and wrapped his towel around his waist. He could play dirty if he had to.

But when he exited the bathroom, the lights were off and Sakura' form was bundled underneath the covers on her bed. He didn't even know it was possible to feel such a relieving form disappointment. She was obviously tired from their full day of running. How could he be annoyed with her for wanting to sleep?

"Oi, Itachi-kun," she mumbled from under her blankets. In the darkness he was able to see her wide green eyes peering at him from her intricately wrapped cocoon. "Where are your clothes? How can I sleep knowing you're naked?"

He quirked a small smile and retrieved his clothes from where he'd left them folded neatly on the bed. "I apologize, hime," he said. "I'm getting dressed now."

She made a small noise of disappointment, but he chose not to read too much into it. They had a lot more running to do tomorrow and she would need her rest. He shouldn't be keeping her awake.

He dressed quickly in the privacy of the bathroom and returned to his bed. At least he tried. There would be plenty more opportunities for flirtation when they weren't on a mission.

"Itachi-kun?"

"Yes?"

"Goodnight."

He rolled over, feeling vaguely like she wanted to say something else. He couldn't quite pinpoint what the problem was, but he felt very dissatisfied.

With a brash and ill-made decision, Itachi slinked out of his own bed and pulled the covers that were bundled around Sakura. She shivered at the sudden intrusion of cold air and craned her neck to give him a wry look. Gently, he positioned himself beside her, curling his body around hers like she had done to him just the night before.

If there was any tension in her body before, it melted completely away as she pressed her back into him. She was viscous and smooth, melting against him in a way that made him absolutely positive that she was meant to fit there against him like that, designed only for him. She let out a content sigh when he wrapped his arm around her and settled his hand against her neck.

He kissed the back of her head and closed his eyes.

"Goodnight, Sakura."

.

Itachi wanted to believe that sleeping next to Sakura would be peaceful and give him a more restful sleep than he had ever had before. It seemed like a romantic notion, and he wanted very much to drift happily into his dreams while firmly latched around her.

But it turned out that sleeping next to a girl was much more stressful than he thought. Sakura had fallen asleep almost immediately after he had joined her, which was probably a good thing. Itachi had spent a good portion of the night just trying to get his heart rate under control. When he had finally begun to drift off, Sakura shifted so that she was facing him and hiked her leg over his waist, pressing herself impossibly close to him.

The position was far from unpleasant, but the sinful way her smooth, smooth leg brushed against a particularly sensitive portion of his anatomy left him completely incapable of falling asleep. Every so often she would make a noise, a soft groan, a whimper. She would cling tighter to him and nuzzle her face in his chest. Just what exactly was she dreaming of?

Itachi felt cursed, unable to enjoy what should have been a pleasant moment. If the Stone-nin were in his position right now, what would he be doing? Would he touch her like he had before?

Feeling a little hopeless, Itachi brushed her bangs away from her face and pressed his lips to her forehead. She stirred against him – he could feel her stretching out, her bones popping and cracking.

"Itachi?"

He stilled, unsure of what to do. "I didn't mean to wake you," he said.

Her hand, which had been curled up in a loose fist on his chest, flattened out as she smoothed her palm over his pectoral muscles. "Itachi, your heart is racing," she mumbled. "Are you feeling okay?"

Before he had a chance to answer, she sprang upright into a sitting position and turned back to face him. The alarm on her face alarmed him as well and he sat up with her.

"I forgot to check your lungs!"

He sighed and fell back against his pillow. She kept her flattened palms against his chest and he felt her chakra invade him. "Sakura," he said, watching her with one eye cracked open. "I'm fine. You can check in the morning."

"I just need to make sure your lungs are clear," she said.

He closed his open eye and let her check his lungs. After years of having little to no medical treatment in spite of his very serious condition, Itachi was grateful to have a medic as skilled as Sakura concerned about him. He had almost forgotten what it felt like to be sick, so he could indulge her in this.

"You're good, Itachi-san," she said, withdrawing her chakra.

He opened his eyes to glare at her.

"I mean Uchiha-sama."

He grabbed the back of her head and pulled her into a chaste kiss and then let her settle warmly against his side again. "Go back to sleep, Sakura," he said.

"Sakura- _hime_."

"Sakura-hime."

.

By the next morning, Itachi had been able to capture an astounding two and a half hours of sleep. It would certainly make the trip back to Konoha a bit more taxing, but it wasn't anything he couldn't handle.

If anything, he was grateful for the practice of being close to her, of touching her and keeping his heart from imploding.

He could hear Sakura and Sasuke chatting behind him as they ran. Probably teasing him again as they were wont to do. He paid them no attention this time.

He briefly mused about whether normal people felt like this when entering romantic relationships, or if he was just odd – emotionally stunted in some way. Had his father felt this way about his mother? He couldn't imagine Fugaku being so nervous about Mikoto. But maybe he had been that way before they were married, before they'd had children.

With a sharp pang of regret and nostalgia he thought he had quashed a long time ago, Itachi missed his parents. Mikoto would have loved Sakura. Fugaku would have given him sage advice about how to handle her.

He shook his head to clear those thoughts from his mind because there was no use in thinking about it now.

"Are you alright, Itachi?" Sasuke asked, pulling up alongside him.

It hurt Itachi too much to look at his brother just then, so he merely nodded and pushed farther ahead.

"Is it about Sakura?" Sasuke whispered, keeping up Itachi's pace.

Itachi could sense her presence behind them and he wondered what she was thinking. Did she pick up on his change in mood the way Sasuke had? Did she think it was about her?

"When you were just a baby, Father and Mother left you in my care while they went on an errand," Itachi said. "It was my first time ever watching you alone and I was terrified that I would mess up somehow."

Sasuke cocked his head curiously.

"I was responsible for your life and that was a strange feeling," Itachi continued. "I had killed before, taken life away, but I knew next to nothing about preserving it."

Itachi spared a glance at Sasuke who was looking straight ahead as they ran, but he could tell he was still listening.

"We are tools, shinobi. Our lives are given and taken, and at times it feels very meaningless," Itachi said. "Why is any one life valued higher than another? Why is life valued at all?"

Itachi suddenly felt very cold.

"But it all became clear that day I had you in my care," he continued. "Your life is valuable to me. Your life was worth protecting, worth taking the lives of others for. So that was what I did. I sacrificed the lives of our family, our clan, for yours. It may have been the best choice for Konoha, but when I made that decision I was only thinking of you."

"Itachi…"

"I see both Father and Mother in you," Itachi said. "Lives I took to protect yours. It's hard to look at you sometimes. I wonder if I made the right choice."

"When you put it that way it sounds selfish," Sasuke said with a dry chuckle.

"I prevented a war and saved many lives. But looking back I believe the lives I took in exchange may have been more valuable," Itachi said. "There is no one I would hesitate to kill in exchange for your life."

"Not even Sakura?"

Itachi considered that for a moment. Exchanging Sakura's life for Sasuke's? Was her life worth more to him than Sasuke's was?

"Not even Sakura," Itachi said.

Sasuke caught his eye. "That's a little messed up, Itachi," he said. "Why are you telling me this?"

"As shinobi, we are meant to protect Konoha and all the lives in it," Itachi said. "But it is more important to protect the people you love. The lives worth more."

"What are you saying?"

"I don't know, Sasuke," Itachi said with a huff. "I miss Father and Mother. I wish they were still here."

"Oh," he said. "So what happened when I was a baby? Did I get hurt or something?"

"No," Itachi said, giving him a sideways glance. "Everything went fine. I would never let you get hurt."

Sasuke smirked.

.

Their return to Konoha was met with an overly excited Naruto. They had only been gone for a few days, not even a week, but Naruto had acted like he hadn't seen them in years.

He had greeted Sakura and Sasuke with unparalleled warmth and had even given Itachi a winning smile and an affectionate pat on the back. Itachi had carefully watched his interactions with Sasuke, both because he was genuinely curious about the nature of the relationship and because he hoped to glean some insight into how he should perhaps be behaving with Sakura.

After reporting back to the Hokage tower with the disappointing news that their mission had garnered no new information, the four of them went to the teahouse near the Uchiha compound that Sakura had mentioned to Itachi when he had first returned to Konoha.

It was an odd feeling being in such a cozy and intimate setting with the people he cared so much about. Even before he had left Konoha, he had never been in a position for this kind of thing. Between clan meetings, reporting to the Sandaime, and ANBU missions, Itachi had hardly had any time to develop any real friendships besides what he had with Shisui.

The other children at the academy had not liked him. His genin team had been taken from him. The only person who had really given him the time of day had been Izumi. Kakashi and Tenzo had been good comrades, but could he really have considered them to be friends?

Kisame had also been a good comrade. Kisame had teased him in much the same way that Sasuke or Sakura would. Did that mean they were friends? He certainly didn't hate the shark-nin, in spite of their current status as enemies.

Itachi considered that his connections with all of these people were not meaningless. They were important and they had shaped him. He couldn't say why the value of human life had suddenly become a concern for him, but when he weighed his love for the village against his love for the people in his life…

Well, he had chosen the village over his family. He looked around the table – Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke. They were his family. And he would not choose the village over them if he were forced the make that choice. If this made him selfish, then he could admit that he was selfish.

He felt a warm hand settle on his thigh and he glanced to his left where Sakura was smiling at him with a bit of a puzzled expression. "Earth to Itachi," she said. "What are you thinking about that's got you so spaced out?"

He stared at her, unblinking. He wondered what she would think of his current thoughts, or if she would be upset if she knew what he had said to Sasuke about choosing his life over hers. Of course that decision would be difficult to accept. He could no longer imagine a life without Sakura in it.

And maybe that would change one day. Maybe in the future he would grow to love her more than he loved Sasuke. It seemed impossible to even think about. Could he love anyone more than he loved Sasuke?

He glanced at Sasuke who was watching Naruto with one of the softest expressions he had ever seen on his stoic little brother. Naruto was chatting animatedly about something one of the Hyuugas had done in their absence – nothing particularly engaging. Yet Sasuke was watching him like he was the sun, the most important thing in the world.

Sasuke had never looked at him like that. Had Sakura ever looked at him like that? Had he ever looked at Sakura that way before?

"Itachi?"

Her expression had grown more worried and for a reason he couldn't quite explain, that made him happy.

"I apologize, hime," he murmured low, for only her to hear. "I was lost in thought."


	33. Chapter 33

Sakura was relieved and a little bit disappointed when they found Kabuto's bunker empty. She had not been looking forward to facing him again, especially considering the false pretense she would have had to put up. She was, however, curious about what he was doing and what she could do to prevent it.

That was why she spent every second of her free time after their mission in the labs, analyzing the samples she had collected. It was tedious work that required a lot of her concentration and patience, so she made sure to take her time and be very careful.

For several days, she found nothing out of sorts with any of the samples, but at some point she chose to compare her notes from Toyeiki with her notes from the samples. In doing so, she found a specific pathogen that seemed to infect via water. It was different than the one that had infected so many people in Toyeiki, yet from a microscopic view it looked very similar.

Sakura didn't know what that meant, but between shifts at the hospital and assisting Tsunade with her Hokage duties, she attempted to figure it out. Was the original disease able to spread through different means? Or was this a completely different infection? Could chakra be infected through this waterborne pathogen?

After nearly two weeks of spending her nights at the lab, Ino began to come visit her. She had grown tired of waiting for Sakura to come home each night and had brought her food and flowers to spruce up the place.

Sakura was grateful for her company. Though she was surrounded by people every day, it got a little lonely working by herself. Ino had always had a good sense of when Sakura needed her, so she appreciated the thoughtful gestures.

Ino still seemed pretty down about the Sai situation and Sakura wished that there was something she could do for her. No amount of nights out partying would resolve this issue, but unfortunately for Sakura, she didn't know what would.

Setting her up with another man seemed disrespectful and highly likely to backfire. Besides, she didn't know any eligible bachelors anyway. Instead, Sakura did what she could to make Ino's life a little easier each day.

Ino continued to stay randomly at Sakura's apartment, so Sakura made sure to keep her favorite foods stocked. She picked up after Ino's messes without complaint and she would lay out her clothes for the next day. She left her little notes in her pockets – things that would cheer her up and remind her that she was loved.

It seemed to work. Ino's mood had drastically improved in the weeks following Sakura's mission, in spite of the fact that Sakura didn't have too much extra free time to spend with her.

After coming home late one day having been down in the labs working, Sakura wasn't surprised to find Ino curled up on her couch with a steaming mug of tea and an open book in her lap.

"Hey, pig, how are you?" Sakura asked, peeling off her medic's coat and letting it crumple on the floor by the door.

"Not bad, Forehead," she replied with a smile. It was a genuine smile – one that she seemed to be giving more and more lately. "I made some dinner for you. There's a plate in the microwave."

They had settled into a comfortable coexistence, just the two of them – almost like an old married couple. Ino had been especially helpful in picking up some of Sakura's slack with Yamato and Sachi. Her busy schedule had demanded much more of her time than she was used to giving, so lately she had been having to rely on Ino to pick up Yamato from school or watch Sachi while her parents were busy.

Even though she was exhausted and desperately needed a day off (and she could take one if she _really_ needed one), Sakura was content. Her day-to-day life was relaxed and comfortable and there wasn't much to complain about.

"So what's been going on with the whole Danzo situation?"

Except that. Sakura settled down on the couch next to Ino with her warmed up plate of food and crossed her legs underneath her.

"His trial is in a couple of weeks," Sakura said, chewing a bite of her eggroll. "Tsunade-sama says I'll have to be a witness in his trial. I'm not really sure what that means."

And she still had that pesky problem of their previous conversation. Best-case scenario, her problems solved themselves. If Danzo was ordered to be executed, then she wouldn't have to worry about him coming after Sasuke and Itachi. It was unlikely, and Sakura knew that. But she couldn't help but hope for such a thing.

She thought about what was likely to happen. Danzo would go free but be removed from the council. That wouldn't really do as much good as Tsunade seemed to think. He would still be a threat to the village, and to Sasuke and Itachi.

And it definitely wouldn't be enough to quell Sasuke's thirst for revenge. The young Uchiha had been pretty reserved so far – probably because Itachi made things much easier for him. It was easier for him to forget the pain when Itachi was there.

If Danzo escaped a death sentence, would Sasuke attack him? Would Itachi condone that behavior? She couldn't know for sure, but she desperately wanted to prevent a fight between them. Danzo had far more sway than the Uchiha did. Even if he were removed from the council, the citizens of Konoha still respected his name. He still would have ROOT.

But she couldn't convince herself to ask them to leave the village. It was their home. They didn't deserve to be kicked out.

She considered that she should tell someone what Danzo had told her. She should tell Tsunade. She really needed to stop keeping secrets from the Hokage – especially ones regarding the safety of the village. And she also should probably tell Itachi. He was smarter than her, had more experience with this sort of thing. He would know what to do.

But would he be angry with her for keeping it from him?

"Sounds stressful," Ino said. "Glad it's not me."

Sakura gave her a half-hearted thump on the back of her head.

"Ow, ow, sorry," she squealed.

"I don't want to think about that right now," Sakura said. "Distract me with something else."

"You know Tsunade is going to make you come to that clan ceremony thing."

"Clan ceremony?"

"Yeah, to elect a new council made up of all the clan heads," Ino said flippantly. "Didn't she tell you? I hear it's suppose to be on the hush hush, but I heard her telling Shizune that after Danzo is removed from the council, she wants to create a council with all of the clan heads in addition to a few civilian elects."

"That's kind of bold of her, isn't it?" Sakura said. Tsunade was a good Hokage, but this seemed like a bit much for her. The status quo was easy. How would Konoha react to such a massive political change? "I can't believe she didn't tell me."

"Well, you've been cooped up in the labs for weeks," Ino said.

"I guess I should go talk to her."

Ino looked away. "She puts too much pressure on you sometimes," she said. "Between your missions, shifts at the hospital, assisting her with Hokage duties, and now forcing you to go to the clan ceremony – it's too much for one girl to handle."

Sakura smiled. "That's how you feel, huh?" she asked. "It isn't anything I can't handle. I like being busy. Besides, she hadn't even asked me to go to the clan ceremony yet."

"You know she will, though," Ino said. "She's going to make you do all the work _she_ should be doing while she's off somewhere getting drunk."

Sakura laughed. "Yeah, that's probably true."

"I heard that the Kazekage will be there, too," Ino said. "All the kages were invited, but Gaara was the only one to agree to come."

"Not surprising."

"Seems like overkill, doesn't it?" Ino asked. "All the kages? They don't have anything to do with Konoha politics."

"Yeah, good point. I wonder what Tsunade is up to."

"And you know who else will be there…"

Sakura raised a brow.

"Itachi."

She hadn't thought about him in a while. It felt strange to think it had been several weeks since she had seen him.

"What?" Ino asked, seeing the puzzled expression on her face. "Did something happen with you guys?"

"Uh no," Sakura said. "I just haven't seen him in a while. I've been so busy these past couple of weeks."

"Then you must be looking forward to seeing him again," she answered.

And Sakura supposed she was.

.

The next day, Sakura was blessed with an afternoon off. She finished her morning shift at the hospital, and instead of going down to labs as she had been for the last several weeks, she picked up Yamato from the academy and took him down to the training fields.

"I was beginning to think you had forgotten about me," he teased once they had gotten close to the training grounds.

"Of course I couldn't forget about you, Yamato," she said with a grin. "How could I forget about the number one student at the academy? The student with sharpest aim?"

Yamato beamed at the compliment and put his hands behind his head in that boastful sort of way that reminded her of Naruto. He had an unfair advantage, really. He had training with Naruto, Itachi, and her (though she could admit that she didn't have too much to add).

But Sakura was proud nonetheless that Yamato had risen so quickly to the top of his class. At this rate, he would make a finer ninja than she was.

"Alright, Yamato, what would you like to work on today?"

"Taijutus," he said confidently. "No weapons. No ninjutsu. Chakra permitted."

"You know that's my specialty, right?"

"Of course," he said, still beaming. "That's why I picked it."

She didn't wait for any further explanation before she was attacking him, punching and kicking without holding back. Yamato was quick, and with more practice he would surely be faster than her by the end of the year. But for now, she was a fair bit quicker than he was and was able to land blow after blow on him.

He blocked them by using a chakra buffer against his skin where it contacted hers, just like she had taught him to do. She was rather impressed with his ability to regulate his chakra usage so that he was not wasting any in absorbing the impact of her hits.

And soon enough he was pushing her back with attacks of his own, forcing her to defend instead of attack. Sakura fell into defense mode, blocking his punches and parrying when she could.

She was enjoying herself immensely. Her time cooped up in the hospital and the labs had put her a bit out of practice and sparring with Yamato was a great way to kill two birds with one stone. She could enjoy some leisure time with him while getting in a good workout.

"Your chakra control is improving, Yamato," she said breathlessly, blocking a particularly nasty punch aimed at her face.

"Iruka-sensei has been teaching us how to be chakra efficient," he said, still raining down blows, "So that we don't waste it."

Sakura, having had enough of being on defense, pushed him back with a rough shove and swept her leg under his, knocking him to the ground. He was back to his feet in a matter of seconds, his arms up to protect his face from her onslaught of punches and high kicks.

They exchanged blows like this for a while, more like a dance than a fight, intricate, graceful and well choreographed.

Sakura aimed a harsh punch toward his chest – one she knew would knock him pretty far backwards with the amount of chakra she put into it. He caught it with his hand as she expected, but unlike she had expected, he had not used any chakra to buffer the impact.

She winced as she felt the bones in his hand crunch beneath hers. "Yamato, are you—"

He cut her off with his other fist aimed right for her face. Lacking the speed to block it, she took the full force of it in her temple and fell back to the ground with a grimace.

"That was sneaky," she said with a hint of pride in her tone. "You let me break your hand to distract me."

"One of the best reasons to spar with you," he said with a grin. "You can always heal my wounds after."

She sat up, wincing. She could feel tenderness around her eye and it had begun to swell shut. It would definitely bruise if she didn't heal it soon, but she wanted to take a look at Yamato's hand first.

"Come here," she commanded. "Let me see it."

He crouched down in front of her and extended his hand. Broken bones took longer to heal than wounds or bruises, so they got comfortable in the grass while she let her healing chakra do its work.

They chatted amicably about how his studies at the academy were going, Sachi and her parents, and life in general. It had been so long since she had seen Yamato that she had nearly forgotten how at ease she felt around him. He reminded her so much of Naruto at that age – and having regretted how she treated the poor blonde back then, she felt a duty to be there for him.

"You'll be graduating soon," she said to him after a comfortable lull in conversation had filled the air around them. "You'll get a team. You'll start going on missions. Are you excited?"

"I suppose," he said weakly. "I'll be excited when I get to take _real_ missions instead of babysitting gigs."

Sakura laughed. "It's all part of the process."

"Yeah, I know," he said. "I hope it goes by quick, though. I can't wait to join ANBU."

Sakura blinked. She hadn't realized that he was interested in joining ANBU. Her first instinct was to stop him, to convince him to change his mind. ANBU was a dangerous job. Itachi had been ANBU – she didn't want Yamato subjected to a fate like his.

"ANBU," she said slowly, testing out the syllables on her tongue. "That's ambitious."

"You don't think I can do it?"

She gave him an eye-crinkling smile. "Of course you can do it, Yamato," she said. It wasn't her place to decide such a thing for him. If ANBU was what he wanted, she had no doubt he could achieve it. "No question."

"So," he said in an obvious attempt at changing the subject. "Are _you_ going to try to join ANBU? Or become a jonin?"

She released his hand, having finished the healing process. He pulled it into his lap and gave each finger a good flex. She watched him as she turned his hand over testing each muscle, each joint while she thought about her answer.

It wasn't as though she had never thought of either of those things before. She wanted to become a jonin, but she would have to have a recommendation for that. It might not be hard to get one if she chose to take more missions, but just working at the hospital it wasn't likely that the position would fall into her lap. She would have to put some more effort into it.

As for being ANBU, she didn't know if that was something she could handle. ANBU did some dirty work. She appreciated those who were able to do it, but she didn't know if she herself was capable. After learning about Itachi's secret mission, she wasn't sure if she would be a good fit for ANBU.

"I'd like to be a jonin someday," she said after careful deliberation. "But I have a lot of other things on my plate right now. It'll have to wait."

"If you wait too long I might beat you to it," Yamato said, grinning cheekily.

"Nothing would make me prouder."

Yamato laughed and sat back on his forearms in the grass. A gentle breeze rolled past them, kicking up the fallen leaves and rustling their hair. In spite of the several imminent dangers honing in on her – Danzo's trial, Kabuto, the clan ceremony – Sakura felt deeply content to be sitting there with Yamato.

She took the opportunity to study his face. He seemed much older than he actually was. Much like Itachi, Yamato seemed to have aged prematurely in the face of all the stress in his life. Sakura felt he took the death of his parents rather well for someone of his age. It must have been hard for him, especially having to take care of Sachi as well.

Yamato was a bright and energetic boy and Sakura felt extremely lucky to have him in her life. She felt a swell of affection for him in her chest, and Sakura felt a strong urge to crush him into a bear hug.

But she resisted the maternal temptation and gave him a warm smile instead.

"Do you want to go to Ichiraku's?" she asked. "My treat?"

"Better not," he said with a shake of his head. "I'm going to dinner with a few of my classmates later today. Don't want to spoil my appetite."

"Fair enough," she said, hiding her disappointment with an even warmer smile.

.

"Status report on Kabuto's samples?"

"Making progress as expected," Sakura answered. "I'm finding remnants of the original disease in a new pathogen – this was waterborne instead of airborne. I'm not sure what this means, exactly, but with some more research I think I might find out how it can be used as a poison."

"Do you think that's the way Kabuto intended for this pathogen to be used?"

"I believe based on this research, that he was attempting to find a way that the previously vetted disease could be transmitted via a plethora of different ways. Water, air, insects, physical contact," Sakura explained. "Unfortunately, knowing that I created a vaccine, Kabuto likely is using a completely different bacterial infection right now."

"A disease spread through so many different means would be impossible to contain."

"Biological warfare at its best."

"Then we must find and stop Kabuto before he can put this plan into place."

Tsunade frowned and rubbed her brow with the back of her hand. She looked tired, Sakura thought, and she must have been since Sakura couldn't be there to help her with her Hokage duties. She even looked sober.

"Are you feeling alright, Tsunade-shishou?"

Tsunade looked up at her pupil with narrowed eyes. "I told you about the clan ceremony, didn't I?"

Sakura blanched. "Well, no," she answered. "Ino told me a little bit about it."

Tsunade cursed. "I meant to tell you," she said. "Danzo's trial is a week from today. After his trial is over, I plan to replace the council entirely. The new council will be made up of the clan heads plus a few civilians that are chosen by me. In the future, I plan for this newly set up council to elect the new Hokage."

Sakura blinked in surprise. "You mean you won't pick the next Hokage?"

"One elected by the council will be one chosen by the people," she explained. "I think things will be better this way."

"But it hasn't been a problem so far," Sakura said, not fully understanding why Tsunade would want to implement such a drastic political change. "Why go through all this effort to fix a problem that doesn't exist?"

"There _is_ a problem, Sakura," Tsunade insisted. "The Uchiha clan never had a voice. They were historically pushed back away from the central running of the village, in spite of being a founding clan. By giving the Uchiha clan – every clan – an equal vote in the village's political affairs, we create a democratic system based on everyone's best interest. Not just mine. Not just the strongest clan."

Sakura looked down at her feet. She didn't entirely trust in her mentor's idea, but she didn't have the courage to argue with her.

"I know it seems impossible, Sakura," Tsunade said. "But this change will be good for everyone. Just have a little faith in me."

Sakura nodded. "What do you need from me, Tsunade-shishou?"

"I'll need you to take minutes during the council meetings from now on," Tsunade said. "Usually I would give that responsibility to Shizune, but she has enough on her plate right now. Everything said during those meetings is completely confidential, so you cannot discuss what you hear with anyone. Not Naruto, not Sasuke, not Kakashi. No one."

"I understand."

"I'm hoping that you will get elected to the council in the future," Tsunade continued. "You are well respected among your peers and as my student you know a lot about how the Hokage's office is run. Pay close attention during the meetings and give input when asked, but do not offer it."

"Yes, Tsunade-shishou."

Sakura felt herself reeling a little. Tsunade was essentially giving her a political career. Another task to add to her ever-growing list. As if her plate weren't already full enough.

But this was something she could actually get behind. The problems they had with Danzo, the corruption behind the scenes in Konoha – she was now in a position to tame things like that. She could make a real change in the way Konoha operating now.

She had a feeling that there would be some major repercussions for Tsunade's decision, but for a moment, Sakura felt a great sense of importance. She could do this.

"Your first order of business is to schmooze all the clan heads," Tsunade continued. "The clan ceremony will be a good opportunity for you to do that. I will announce there my decision regarding the council, so I need everyone to be in a good mood and I need everyone to like you. You're going to be my little pink mascot."

"Pardon?"

"I'm rough around the edges, I know," Tsunade said with a rueful grin. "And you have quite a temper, too, but I'll need you to keep that under control. You're cute. Use that to your advantage."

"I'm afraid I don't follow…"

"I really need to you garner favor with the clan heads, Sakura," she said impatiently. "Flirt, give them good conversation, bat your eyelashes – whatever you have to do. Get them to be on my side – _our_ side. It would look ridiculous if I instate a democratic council that immediately impeaches me or questions all my decisions. Just schmooze them."

"Uhh," Sakura groaned with bemusement. "Okay, I think I can do that."

"Great. Now I've invited the Kazekage to this ceremony because if this is successful, he might implement such a thing in Suna as well," Tsunade said. "So, if you can, make sure to impress Gaara, too."

"Why does it matter if Suna implements a democratic council?"

"It will strengthen our alliance, but it isn't necessary, I suppose," she answered. "I invited all thekages to come, but Gaara was the only one interested."

"Don't you think it could make us look vulnerable to let the other nations know we're in the midst of a large political change?" Sakura asked, suddenly very concerned. They weren't too far off the heels of the third shinobi war. Another war could be detrimental.

"Don't worry about that," Tsunade said. "This entire deal is probationary for now. I am still Hokage and my word is still final. If this doesn't work out like I plan, I will strike the ordeal and we'll go back to the way things were."

Sakura didn't think that sounded practical, but she didn't mention that to her mentor who was pouring herself a cup of sake and looking quite pleased with herself.

"You seem overwhelmed," she said before downing the entire glass.

"It's a lot to take in."

"Sakura."

Sakura looked up at her shishou.

"Sakura, I want you to know how proud I am of you for all that you've done this past year," she said earnestly. "You successfully created a vaccine for a biological weapon. You uncovered one of Konoha's darkest secrets. You keep up with your shifts at the hospital and taking care of those damned orphans all while simultaneously working in the labs – and Ino told me you've been working on some new jutsus."

Sakura felt her face heating up. Tsunade was not usually forthcoming with her compliments. It was rare to get one at all from the surly blonde, let alone a laundry list of achievements.

"I'm impressed," she said. "And I want to reward you."

"Reward me?" Sakura laughed. "Shouldn't you be punishing me instead? I was a part of a plot to kill Danzo. I worked with a Konoha defector behind your back."

Tsunade waved her hand dismissively. "You were absolved of those sins when I beat the shit out of you during that spar," she said. "Now, what do you want, Sakura? How can I make your life easier?"

Sakura bit her lip. What could she possibly ask for? She had never been more content with her life than she had been for the past several weeks. There was nothing she really wanted.

Except… She recalled her conversation with Yamato.

"I want to be a jonin."

Tsunade's eyebrows flew up in surprise. "A jonin?" she mumbled. "Well, usually the rank of jonin is given at the recommendation of your teacher. But I suppose that I am your teacher. I don't think Kakashi would disagree that you deserve the position. I hereby grant you the rank of jonin."

Sakura let a smile creep onto her lips before flying to the other side of the desk and wrapping her arms around Tsunade's neck.

"Thank you, shishou!" she exclaimed. "I won't let you down."

Tsunade pushed her student away with a wry, but amused look. "I know you won't. Now get going. I'm sure your busy ass has somewhere it needs to be."


	34. Chapter 34

While Kabuto was still at large with no lead on where he might be, Konoha's safety risks were fairly low. Danzo was still imprisoned. Akatsuki was virtually gone while Madara must have been recuperating from the loss of all his manpower. Konoha was safer than it had been in a long time.

And what that meant for Itachi was boring missions.

Being back on the mission roster during peacetime was not nearly the rush that being in Akatsuki had been. Not that Itachi would dare say that he missed it. He definitely did not. In fact, being as pacifistic as he was, Itachi didn't really miss fighting all that much at all.

Stealth missions were fun. They offered a whole host of excitement and intrigue. Itachi was best with infiltration, gathering intel.

But this was not a stealth mission and there was no intel. In fact, if this mission did not involve a person of high importance, it could only be classified as D rank.

Escort the Daimyo's daughter across Fire country. It was a humiliating task for a shinobi as accomplished as Itachi, but he couldn't turn down a mission. Not when there were so few to take.

It was a wonder that the Daimyo would hire a man like Itachi to protect his daughter. A clan killer. A man capable of killing his own family surely shouldn't be given the care of a young woman whose potential for grating on his nerves seemed to be endless.

Fortunately, this was an ANBU mission, so his identity remained unknown. For all they knew, he was the Hokage herself.

"ANBU-san, tell me your favorite color."

Itachi elected not to answer this demand, as he had with all the previous demands. She had incessantly pressed him to talk for the few hours they had been on the road. So far he had not uttered a word to her, but he could feel that it was only a matter of time before he politely asked her to shut up.

"ANBU-san, is your favorite color red like your eyes?"

He narrowed his eyes at her through the slits in his mask.

"Oh, ANBU-san, you don't scare me," she said with a shrill giggle. "You're here to protect me – don't act like you can intimidate me."

Anyone not intimidated by him was foolish indeed. She had an unwavering trust in him that he found too disconcerting to spend much time thinking about.

Itachi studied her for a moment, because something about her voice reminded him of Sakura. She was hardly eighteen, maybe younger. She had delicate features and bouncing brown curls.

A young noble like her would certainly be a fine target. Her youth and beauty would give her allure. She was rich and loved – an easy mark for someone strapped for cash.

"Tell me, ANBU-san," she said, fanning herself with an ornately decorated fan. "Do you have a girlfriend back home?"

Again, Itachi refused to answer. But it seemed that the young woman was determined to get an answer for this particular question. She crawled to the edge of her cart near to where Itachi walked beside it. He kept his gaze forward.

"ANBU-san," she said, drumming her fingers impatiently on the wood.

When he still did not respond, she reached her hand out toward his face. He saw with his Sharingan her intent to remove his mask so he caught her wrist and held it.

"Tell me about you girlfriend," she said, unperturbed by the rough way he was currently restraining her arm. In fact, Itachi felt a twinge of disgust when she seemed to lean into his touch and sigh.

He released her, shoving her gently back into her seat in the cart. "I don't have a girlfriend," he said.

"He speaks!" she exclaimed giddily, clapping her hands like he had just performed some impressive feat. Itachi narrowed his eyes, if that were even possible.

He had considered lying to her – telling her that he did have a girlfriend. The closest thing he'd ever had to a girlfriend was Sakura, who he had not seen in several weeks. And she was not his girlfriend.

It was torture, really. It seemed cruel and unfair on fate's part to have let him share a bed with her, to be close to her and touch her and then take her away again. He saw how busy she constantly was. She was important to the village – they needed her more than he did.

But damn if he didn't need her. Ironic how he had wanted to get some space from her, to clear his head of her. The thrill of lying next to her, of being wrapped around her body so intimately had left quite an impression on poor Itachi. He felt high and giddy just thinking about it. She was like a drug he was craving – that adrenaline, that spike of nerves that felt so awful and yet so intriguing at the same time.

Twice he had come to her apartment since their mission. The first time she had not been there. He had sensed the presence of the Yamanaka girl inside, but instead of asking her where Sakura was, he left. Later he learned that she had been in the labs working on the samples they had collected from Kabuto's bunker.

How admirable for her to be working so late into the evening, he thought when he learned this.

The second time he had visited he once again felt the Yamanaka girl there. Feeling bold and a little discouraged at the same time, Itachi had peered inside her window for a brief second to see Sakura curled up on the couch with the blonde's tear streaked face in her lap.

There would have been no tactful way to interrupt whatever had been happening then, so Itachi left again.

He hadn't gathered the courage to go see her again. He wanted to, of course. He thought of her far too often while missions were slow, while nothing was happening. _She_ was happening. She was the only thing he could keep his mind on.

"How could a handsome man like you not have a girlfriend?" the Daimyo's daughter demanded.

He had not removed his mask at any point since meeting her, and the girl had no way of knowing if he was handsome or not. Nonetheless, Itachi felt heat rising to his cheeks and he was grateful that they were covered.

"Are you allowed to have a girlfriend, ANBU-san?" she asked. "Or are ANBU forbidden from pursuing love?"

Itachi did not respond.

"How tragic that would be," she continued. "I hope that's not true. Oh! Do you have a girl back home that you love and cannot be with? How awful that must be! She must be very beautiful for a man like you to love her. Do you think she loves you back? Does she know that you love her? Do you have secret rendezvous with one another between you—"

"Please," Itachi interrupted sharply. "Be quiet."

"Do you hear something, ANBU-san?" she whispered.

"Yeah, you."

She looked stunned for a moment before that emotion was whisked away and replaced with indignant coldness. She crossed her arms with a huff, and Itachi was amused in spite of himself.

"Forgive my rudeness," Itachi apologized, but he offered no explanation or further groveling.

"'Forgive my rudeness, _hime,_ '" she corrected.

Itachi halted. The cart moved on without him, the incensed _hime_ pouting but otherwise paying him no attention. It shouldn't have come as a surprise that a person who actually had claim to such a title would demand to be called one, but Itachi felt hesitant to call this girl a name he had reserved for Sakura.

Even the way she had said it reminded him so much of her…

"Forgive my rudeness, hime," he amended as he caught up with the cart.

Luckily for Itachi, the hime pouted silently for the rest of the trip.

.

"Why are you so dressed up?"

Itachi spared a glance for his brother while he straightened his shirt. He had been subjected to Sasuke's relentless teasing about his escort mission – he wasn't interested in having Sasuke mock his formal attire, too.

"Clan ceremony," he said tersely.

"Clan ceremony? Why wasn't I invited?"

Itachi shook his head. "Only the clan heads were invited, Sasuke," Itachi answered. "Tsunade-sama is going to reveal to us new information about the council."

Itachi watched Sasuke's face darken. Danzo's trial had come and gone without much fuss. It had hardly seemed like there was a point in having one at all when Tsunade passed her judgment with little to no regard for the opinions of the rest of the council members.

She had still been more lenient than Itachi cared for (and Itachi was not a vengeful man). Danzo had been banned from Konoha and had a seal of his own design placed on his tongue so that Konoha's secrets would be safe.

Itachi had been away on a mission during the trial, but both Naruto and Sasuke reported that Sakura had been livid when she exited the courtroom. When they pressed her for information she refused to speak. He couldn't imagine what had her so outraged. He wished he could have witnessed the trial himself. He was curious as to what part Sakura played in it.

On the heels of Danzo's banishment the council needed an overhaul. Thus, formal invitations to a clan ceremony where Tsunade would explain the future of the council and Konoha's political climate were sent out.

Itachi was not looking forward to going. He did not do well at events like these. He supposed he would have to get used to them being the clan head. He should have been used to them already at this age – an heir to such a prestigious clan.

Instead, his stomach was filled with dread. He couldn't imagine a scenario where the other clan heads reacted favorably to his appearance. He was well aware that he was still despised by the rest of the village.

"But you'll tell me everything when you get back?" Sasuke asked.

"Of course."

.

It could have been worse, Itachi thought. Everyone had gathered at the Hokage tower in one the lower rooms reserved for events like these. It appeared that more than just the clan heads had been invited. Jiraiya, Kakashi, Shizune, and several more people he did not recognize also flitted about the floor, mingling and enjoying themselves. He also recognized Gaara – odd looking without his sand gourd on his back. He hadn't expected the Kazekage to be here.

If Itachi hadn't felt so uncomfortable being there, he would have been amazed that such a strange crowd of people could possibly have gathered for a formal event like this one. Even Kakashi, so unusual without his Icha Icha book, looked relaxed.

From his position against the wall, Itachi watched as the guests interacted with one another – spotting each clan head and rehearsing what he might say if they approached him.

"Itachi."

He glanced to his left.

"Tsunade-sama."

"Don't be such a wallflower," she said. "You're a big part of why this is even happening."

"What exactly is happening?"

She leaned against the wall next to him, crossing her arms. "You'll find out," she said. "And if you could do me this solid: don't be all intimidating and cold. Try to… get people to like you."

Itachi narrowed his eyes because that was a ridiculous thing for someone with a temper like hers to suggest, but he kept his mouth shut.

Across the room he saw a flash of pink and his eyes were drawn in immediately. She looked both confused and stunning when she entered the room, her gaze panning slowly as she looked for something, someone.

She had dressed to kill, apparently. Itachi couldn't draw his eyes away from her form fitting red dress long enough to notice that she had curled her hair (a respectable length now) and put on a substantial amount of makeup.

She smiled an obnoxiously and unfairly bright smile when she caught sight of the Kazekage and Itachi watched as she made her way over to him. He smiled back when he saw her (Itachi couldn't recall ever having seen the Kazekage smile) and gave her a firm handshake.

A handshake, Itachi thought with relief. Not a kiss on the cheek or a hug.

He immediately felt rather foolish for even thinking about such a thing.

"In fact," Tsunade said, reminding him that she was, in fact, still there. "If you could play up the whole victim thing, that would be fantastic. I know the massacre must be fresh in your mind after the results of Danzo's trial."

"Right," Itachi said, keeping his eyes fixed on Sakura as she flitted away from Gaara and over to Kakashi who ruffled her hair affectionately. She shoved him too roughly away from her and wagged her finger at him, chiding him, no doubt, for having messed up her hair. "The _lenient_ results of the trial."

"Please," she scoffed. "I practically gave him a death sentence. A decrepit old man like him isn't going to last long out there."

"You should know better than to underestimate him."

Tsunade grunted and kicked herself off the wall. "Enjoy this party, Itachi," she said. "At least _try_ to have a good time."

Itachi watched her walk away. He couldn't imagine enjoying himself here.

If anything, he felt even more uncomfortable knowing that there was something Tsunade needed from him. Why should he have to play his victim card? Why would he need people to like him?

She had also claimed that he was an important reason that this event was even happening. What could that mean? Just what exactly was she planning?

"Itachi-kun."

She approached him along the wall, resting her shoulder against the wall next to him. Her body was facing him and before he could stop himself, his eyes traveled the length of her body and back up before landing on her face.

She was looking at him with a raw admiration that made his stomach twist up into knots. He watched her eyes take a similar journey to his, lingering on his chest and shoulders.

"You look nice, Itachi-kun."

She looked nicer, he thought, and he wanted to tell her but he had lost the ability to form words. He couldn't tell whether it was the prolonged absence of her or the fact that she looked phenomenal, but whatever it was made it difficult to process thoughts.

She reached out and grabbed his hand, entwining their fingers like it was a completely normal thing for her to be doing. They were far enough away from everyone else that no one would notice unless they were paying specific attention. Itachi could think of no reason why their relationship (if it could even be called that) should be a secret, but his first instinct was to push her away.

And yet… He wanted for Gaara to turn and look at her – to see her standing so near to him with their hands twisted together.

She moved a step closer to him and fluttered her lashes – lashes that were black and much longer than he remembered.

"Your lashes…"

"Oh," she said. "It's mascara. I forgot I was wearing it."

Having regained his voice, Itachi leaned into her touch and tightened his grip on her hand. "You look beautiful, Sakura."

She smiled warmly, more warmly than she had at Gaara, and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

"Why are you here?" he asked her. "Do you know what's happening with the council?"

"I do, but I'm sure Tsunade-sama will tell you in good time," she answered. "I'm here to schmooze you."

"Me?"

"Well, all the clan heads," she said, brushing a lock of hair away from her face. "But I'll tell you a secret, Itachi-kun. You are my favorite."

He leaned a little closer because, well, that was nice to hear and he could feel her thumb rubbing gentle circles into his wrist. After another moment he felt her chakra in his system, checking for injuries he may have sustained during their time apart from one another.

He felt the headache he didn't even know he had dissipate.

"And you're my favorite," he nearly whispered back.

"Your favorite what?" she asked with a grin.

"Pink-haired medic."

She giggled and smacked him playfully in the arm.

"I missed you, hime."

Her brow furrowed and it almost seemed like she was upset. Maybe that had been too bold of him to say. Or maybe she hadn't missed him.

"I'm sorry I've been so busy," she said and he could sense the guilt in her tone. "I've neglected a lot of things these past couple of weeks, but I apologize for letting you be one of them."

"Well," he said in a mock serious tone, "I somehow managed without you."

She quirked a brow at him and her lips twisted into a smirk. "Is that so?" she asked. "Well, since it appears you don't need me, I'll take my leave."

She turned on her heel to leave, but he caught her by the elbow and pulled her back toward him. She didn't seem surprised.

"No," he said. "Stay."

She leaned in close to him with that infuriating smirk still etched in her face. She let her curls fall forward over her shoulders and Itachi caught a whiff of her vanilla scented shampoo and something else that was uniquely _her_.

"Aww, you really did miss me," she cooed.

He made a noise of agreement with the back of his throat. Tsunade had told him to enjoy himself tonight. That pipedream was quickly becoming reality. If only he could steal her away, take her somewhere more private where he could kiss her. There was a gleam in her eye that he wasn't used to seeing and he wanted to fully explore what it meant.

He trailed the tips of his fingers down the length of her arm. It seemed impossible for a person's skin to feel so much like silk. He watched in fascination as goosebumps spread down her arm. She suppressed a shiver and licked her lips. Her eyes were glassy and bright, and Itachi began to realize the effect he had on her. His mind was racing with others ways he could elicit reactions from her.

But he could not do that here.

"Don't you have schmoozing to do?" he asked, his voice low and heated just to watch what it would do to her.

"Mm," she sighed, fluttering her lashes again. "Why don't we both ditch this place? We could head over to Ichiraku's. Get something to eat."

"Tempting," he said, because it really was.

"Maybe when this is over," she said wistfully because they both knew they should stay.

"Whatever you want, hime," he said, leaning down and pressing a quick kiss to her temple. It amused him to see the cogs whirling in her head as she attempting to put together this strange new way he was acting.

"I don't know if you know this," she said, swallowing a lump in her throat. "But you've gotten quite good at this flirting business."

He laughed because the idea of him being flirtatious was kind of funny. But her reactions encouraged him and his affections for her had somehow grown in their absence from one another. He could flirt with her all day if she let him.

"Have you been practicing?" she demanded.

"Obviously," he drawled. "I didn't get this good at it overnight." It didn't hurt that the shrill sting of his nerves had calmed down somewhat, enabling him to stand near her and touch her without feeling as though he were about to have a heart attack.

"Save some of it for later," she said with a wink. "I have more schmoozing to do. Don't just stand here looking depressed."

"I'm not depressed," he said because he felt anything but depressed while standing next to her. But she had already disappeared, floating away to where Hiashi and Inoichi were chatting.

He immediately felt her absence again and realized exactly how much he had missed her. He had been back in Konoha for almost seven months. For the first two of those, he'd spent time with Sakura almost daily.

The things that had initially kept them together (his health, Yamato and Sachi) were no longer quite so pressing, so necessary. Would he have to come up with excuses every time he wanted to see her?

He watched her throw her head back and laugh at something Inoichi said. He smiled down at her, obviously charmed – and why shouldn't he be? Itachi saw the familiarity between them. He was her best friend's father. Itachi could tell from their interactions that they must have been like family to one another.

But it wasn't just Inoichi. She seemed to know everyone. All those who were lucky enough to get a portion of her time laughed with her, smiled brightly – even the surly Hiashi was not immune to her charm.

"She's looking pretty good tonight, isn't she?" asked a voice to his right.

Itachi resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Jiraiya."

"She certainly stands out in this crowd of old bags," he joked. "I suspect that's why Tsunade had her come."

"Schmoozing, as I understand it," Itachi said.

"One of Sakura's many talents."

Jiraiya leaned back against the wall and crossed his arms. Itachi noticed that his eyes lingered on Sakura, too. He couldn't really blame the sannin – he couldn't look away from her either.

"It was pretty sneaky on Tsunade's part to get all these old men to care about what she says by dressing up her hot student and letting her flirt with everyone," Jiraiya said. "If I were a weaker man, she might already have buttered me up too."

"No offense, Jiraiya-san," Itachi said. "But I don't think you'd stand a chance against her."

"You think?"

"I think you'd be in a much worse mood if she weren't giving you something entertaining to look at."

Jiraiya's booming laughter filled the air around him. Itachi smiled, too, caught in the infectious jovialness Jiraiya seemed to ooze.

"That's certainly true," he said. "She might be pretty, but that girl is nothing but trouble."

"Why do you say that?"

Before he could answer, the sound of Shizune clapping interrupted them. "Attention, everyone!" she said. "The ceremony will now commence. Everyone please report to the council chambers."

.

Itachi was far from a conniving schoolboy, but that didn't mean that he could just let go of the fact that Sakura had walked into the council chambers with her arm around the Kazekage's.

It was platonic, sure. Itachi knew that. She was playing her part, doing what Tsunade asked of her. But technically, Itachi was also one of the men she needed to be schmoozing and he didn't quite feel schmoozed enough.

As everyone began to take their seats, Itachi approached them, wearing what he hoped was his most stern and intimidating face. The Kazekage's eyes followed him as he approached, but Itachi did his best not to feel unnerved by it.

There were many reasons why Gaara should not like him. He probably should have kept his distance and done his best to avoid any kind of conflict.

"Uchiha-sama," Sakura said as he approached. "You're looking quite serious."

He gave Gaara a respectful nod before turning his attention where it belonged. "I need to speak with you regarding my eyes, Sakura-san."

"The ceremony is about to start, Itachi-kun."

Itachi ignored the butterflies that sprang up in his stomach. She had never called him that in front on anyone else before.

"It will take just a second," he said. "You don't mind if I steal her away, Kazekage-sama?"

Gaara looked as though he _did_ mind, but he returned Itachi's nod without a word.

"Excuse me, Gaara-sama," Sakura said to him with a shallow bow.

"Gaara," he corrected.

"Gaara," she said. Itachi could have winced.

He dragged her away to the seats he had chosen for them and sat her down to his left. The rest of the seats began to fill up quickly and the room started to quiet down.

"What's the matter with your eyes, Itachi?"

"Well, you see," he whispered, leaning close to her ear. "There _was_ something wrong with them. But the problem seems to have gone away."

She narrowed her eyes, but he saw the faint quirk of her lips.

"I see," she whispered back. "Sometimes just my presence is enough to fix things."

"I'd better keep you close, then."

"Looks like you're already doing a pretty good job," she murmured. "Poor Gaara is just as uncomfortable being here as you are, you know."

Itachi said nothing because he didn't really care about Gaara.

"I'll just have to make it up to him later," she said.

He snapped his eyes over to her and gave her a sharp look. She stifled a giggle behind one hand and placed the other on his thigh under the table.

"I'm only kidding, Uchiha-sama," she said. "But I do enjoy how cute you look when you're jealous."

"I don't look cute," he mumbled. "And I'm not jealous."

"Let's begin, shall we?" Tsunade said loudly from the head of the table.

And the room fell silent.


	35. Chapter 35

Sakura had heard all of the things Tsunade was saying before, so she wasn't paying careful attention. In fact, she was rather bored sitting in the meeting. She should have been taking notes, like she was supposed to. But taking notes was almost more boring than doing nothing at all and Tsunade wasn't going to be reading them anyway.

Unlike Sakura, everyone else in the room, including Itachi was paying careful attention to Tsunade's every word. Sakura understood this. She was dropping quite a bomb on them.

She could feel how tense and unnerved Itachi seemed to be, so she kept her hand on his leg, unmoving so as not to distract him.

This was a big deal for the Uchihas. A clan that had been nearly outcast, looked down on by the rest of the village – they would now have an equal say in Konoha's political affairs. Itachi's words, his advice would hold weight. And how could anyone deny that he deserved such power?

With a pang of wistfulness, Sakura mused that Itachi would have made a good Hokage.

"He's a clan killer," Hiashi seethed. "Regardless of the reason, he's done brutal and horrifying things to citizens of this village."

"We're not going to dwell on the past, Hyuuga," Tsunade said. "Since his return he has been nothing short of gracious. It's the unfair treatment of his clan that got him into that mess in the first place."

Hiashi looked like he wanted to argue. Sakura could see the tension in his jaw as he clenched his teeth.

"What about his clan?" Chouza asked. "There are only the two of them left. That's hardly even a clan at all. They are no longer the respectable people they once were. Should we really be giving them a seat on the council?"

"The seat has been given," Tsunade said tensely. "That is not up for discussion. However, I do think you make a good point. Itachi."

Itachi, who had been sitting silently with a stony expression and fists clenched in his lap, looked up at the Hokage with dark, serious eyes. "Yes, Hokage-sama?"

"You told me when you came back that you wanted to restore your clan," she said. "Do you still plan on doing so?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

"And do you have any concrete plans for moving forward with the task?" she asked. "Like a specific girl you might have in mind?"

Sakura felt a hot blush rising in her cheeks. She knew that Tsunade was aware of some kind of relationship between the two of them. She didn't know if she knew any of the details, but it wasn't the kind of thing she could slip past her mentor.

Itachi seemed at a loss for what to say. She, too, was curious to see what his answer would be, but she could understand his current predicament. If he said her name, they would be pressured into marrying and having children as soon as possible. Though he seemed to be much bolder with her as of late, she didn't think they were ready for that kind of talk yet.

And if he said no…

"The Uchiha bloodline is strong," Gaara said from beside Tsunade. Every set of eyes in the room turned to look at him. "If you rush his decision, he might choose poorly. He will need a strong wife if she is going to be the Uchiha matriarch."

"You're right, Gaara," Tsunade said. "But his seat on this council is contingent upon his clan. No clan, no seat."

"Tsunade-sama, don't you think that's a little unfair?" Sakura asked. She felt Itachi's eyes on her, but she couldn't look at him.

Tsunade narrowed her eyes at her student. "I'm hearing the feedback of the rest of the council and I think it's only appropriate for Itachi to reestablish the Uchiha clan as a prerequisite for his seat," she said. "However, because I trust him, I will allow him to have his seat now as long as he is married within the year."

"A year?" Sakura squeaked. She felt Itachi's hand cover hers in her lap. He gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"I believe that is fair, Hokage-sama," Itachi said.

"Good," she said with a tense smile. "Moving on."

Whatever else Tsunade had to say was completely lost to Sakura. A rushing sound filled her ears and for a second she thought she might have gone deaf. Did Itachi expect her to marry him within the year?

They hadn't had sex. They hadn't declared love for one another. Hell, they hadn't even been on a date. If somewhat awkward flirting and a night of sexless sleep was enough to build a marriage on, then they were all set.

Years went by quickly. A year ago she was still pining after Sasuke. A year ago Itachi was still an enemy. Could she love Itachi a year from now? Could she be his wife?

And children! The entire point of the rushed marriage would be to produce heirs, children that will carry on the Uchiha name. That would be her responsibility! Would he expect her to pop out baby after baby? Would she have to stop working and taking missions?

She felt her entire body trembling as she clung tighter to Itachi's hand still in her lap. His hand was warm and steady – the complete opposite of hers. Itachi was not difficult. It would be quite easy to love him. And if anyone deserved to be loved, it was Itachi.

"It will be okay, hime," he whispered to her, brushing his thumb over the back of her hand in soothing circles.

As long as he was there with her, it would be.

.

The meeting had gone on for another hour and Sakura could not be more ready to leave. Everyone else also seemed to be in a bit of a bad mood, though Sakura couldn't understand that. Tsunade had just given everyone a power that they did not have before, yet all they could think about was the fact that they did not want Itachi Uchiha to have it, too.

Itachi, Sakura thought, was actually perfect. She watched him as he worked the room at the conclusion of the meeting, greeting everyone with polite smiles and firm handshakes. She knew he wasn't quite as unaffected by their words as he pretended to be.

He had much more grace and tact than she did. She sulked quietly in the corner until everyone else had left.

"Sakura," he said cautiously as he approached her. The Hokage tower had been emptied and it was just the two of them left. She had made it apparent that she was waiting for him, but he still seemed overly pleased that she had not yet left.

"Itachi," she said with a little more sting than she intended. "It's either all or nothing with you, isn't it? I don't see you for weeks and then when we meet again I'm supposed to be marrying you."

"I did not enjoy not seeing you for weeks," he said with bemusement. "If it were up to me, I'd make sure to see you everyday."

Her heart squeezed in her chest. "Itachi…"

"Come with me," he said, extending his hand to her. "I want to talk to you."

She took his hand and let him lead her out of the Hokage tower. When he turned back away from the village, she knew he was taking her to the stone faces. She used to go up there a lot to sit on the Sandaime's head when she was younger. Everyone did. It seemed to be a popular thinking spot.

He led her to Tobirama's head – an interesting choice, she thought. She sat down beside him, letting their legs brush together.

The moon hung high and the stars that peppered the sky seemed much brighter than usual. There were no clouds and for a moment it felt like they were sitting in space with nothing else around them.

Contentedly, Sakura leaned against Itachi and sighed deeply.

"I understand if you don't want to marry me," Itachi said beside her. "That is a lot to ask of you."

She turned her face toward him and if she hadn't been looking for it, she would have missed the flash of pain on his face.

"What makes you think I don't want to marry you?"

"You were freaking out in there."

"I wasn't _freaking out_ ," she defended.

"It's okay," he said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her closer to him. He kissed the top of her head. "I was freaking out, too."

"You were?"

"Of course," he said. "Don't I have reason to? Marriage is scary – and though you know I am exceptionally fond of you, I don't feel quite ready for that yet. I know you don't either."

Sakura smiled, though she knew he couldn't see it. "I'm exceptionally fond of you, too."

"Sakura…"

"I know, I know," she said. "This is serious."

"I could give up my seat on the council," he suggested. "Then Tsunade-sama would have no way to force my hand."

"No, you deserve that seat."

"If I have to choose between you and the seat, I choose you."

She shoved him away from her angrily. "First of all, you don't have to choose. In fact, it seems like we're a package deal. Second, if you _did_ have to choose, you should choose the seat. You have a platform now to stave off the corruption that got your clan in trouble in the first place. I wouldn't let you give that up."

"I don't want you to marry me just so I can have the position on the council."

"I never said I would marry you."

Silence settled around them, thick in the chilly night air. Sakura turned her back toward him and looked out at the village below her. They were all so lucky to have Itachi protecting them. They shouldn't be forcing him to make decisions like these.

"I have a duty to my clan, Sakura," he said, his voice low. "I have to have an heir. I have to have a family."

"I know you do," she whispered, wrapping her arms around her legs and resting her chin on her knee.

"You are the person I want to do that with," he continued.

Sakura felt tears brimming in her eyes. She brushed them away angrily with the back of her hand. Tsunade shouldn't have listened to everyone else. She should have let them take their relationship at their own pace.

She could love Itachi. It would be easy. But would it be a mistake to move too quickly? They hardly knew each other. What would the repercussions be?

"But I understand if you want to break this off now," he said quietly. "You have done so much for me already – I cannot ask you for something so big."

"Itachi, you don't want marriage to be a favor I do for you," she said. "And I don't want to marry you as a favor. I want to marry you because I love you. And I don't want to break this off because I think I might love you."

She turned back to look at him and was slightly amused to see a dumbstruck look on his face. She couldn't recall ever seeing a look like that from him so she felt a bit of pride knowing that she was the one who caused it.

"Itachi, don't think that my hesitancy is because of you," she said, moving to her knees and pulling his hands into her lap. "I do want to be with you. I'm just scared. I've never been a wife or a mother before, and if I marry you I'll be expected to be exceptional at both. I'll have to quit taking missions, maybe even my job at the hospital. It's just a lot to take in."

Itachi laughed and the sound surprised her. "Now you know how I feel," he said. "The expectation to be exceptional – it's unpleasant, I can tell you that."

Sakura furrowed her brow.

"Listen, Sakura, I won't ask anything from you that you aren't willing to give. If you don't want to marry me a year from now, then we won't get married. But I don't want to lose you," he said.

He pulled her hand up to his lips and kissed the back of her hand. "You look beautiful and confused," he said.

She leaned closer to him, breathing in his scent. "I don't know what to do," she confessed.

"Neither do I," he said. "But we don't have to figure it out right now. Right now can just be about me and you."

He slipped his fingers into her hair around her face and pulled her in for a kiss. And suddenly none of it seemed important. The meeting, the marriage – it all floated away. She gripped his forearms tightly and breathed him in, kissing him with more control than she had ever cared to use before.

Itachi pulled her into his lap and turned her around so that her back was pressed into his chest. She could feel the warmth of his body juxtaposed by the frigid winds that whipped through their hair. He circled his arms around her and kissed her temple before resting his chin on the top of her head.

Sakura sank back into him and entwined their fingers together. They sat in silence for a while, watching the moon, the stars together.

"So," Itachi murmured into her hair. "You think you might love me, huh?"

"Maybe," Sakura replied coyly. "It's too soon to tell."

"Well, I think I might love you, too."

"You think?"

"It's too soon to tell."

Sakura laughed and then shivered when she felt him exhale against her ear. He tightened his arms around her. "Are you cold?" he purred. Sakura laughed again and elbowed him gently in the ribs.

"Since when do you have moves, Itachi-kun?"

"I've always had moves, hime," he said. "I've avoided using them on you. They can be a bit overwhelming."

"And jokes, too!" she giggled.

"Not a joke," he said, pressing a kiss to her temple. "I invited you up here so I could seduce you."

She giggled again and turned around in his lap, wrapping her legs around his waist. "Is that so?" she asked.

He might have been joking – Sakura couldn't know for sure. But the look he fixed her with sent a sharp stab of heat straight through her body nonetheless. His eyes were dark and heavy lidded as he peered at her through impossibly long lashes. Sakura had seen that look before on other men, but it had never affected her until now. She yearned to just grab him by the hair and pull him into a fierce kiss, but she was curious to see what he would do next.

"I really did miss you, hime," he said, pressing a kiss against her throat. Sakura arched her neck back, pressing her chest closer to his. "I tried to visit you a couple times, but you were busy."

His hands trailed down her back and along her thighs, smoothing over the thin material of her dress. More boldly than Sakura remembered him to be, he slipped his hands underneath the hem of her dress and let his fingers skim along her bare thighs.

Sakura let out a shaky breath and rolled her hips forward. "You came to visit me?" she asked, watching him squirm beneath her. "When?"

"Not important," he said, leaning into her and pressing his lips to hers. He was torturously slow and gentle, but more heated, more intense than he usually was with her. His fingers sank into her hips, squeezing the bare skin just above her panties. He pressed her down hard into his lap.

She gasped at the pleasurable sensation, giving him the opportunity to deepen the kiss. She clung desperately to him, high on the pleasure, high on him. He pulled his mouth away from hers and began to trail hot kisses along her jaw, her neck, her bared shoulders. He grinded her down into his lap again, eliciting a groan from her.

She threaded her fingers into his hair, pulling his head down to where her shoulder met her neck. He obliged, pressing hot kisses to the skin there.

"Itachi," she whispered. It was probably a protest that she had been about to utter, but it vanished from her mind completely when she felt his hand wander out from under her dress to experimentally cup her breast.

She gasped and arched into his palm. She felt him smile against the skin of her neck. He brushed his thumb across her nipple over the thin fabric of her dress. The feeling was electric and sent a shock of pleasure right down to her core. She whimpered softly and bucked her hips against him.

"Itachi," she groaned.

"Yes?" he mumbled, nuzzling her neck.

"Are you going to fuck me on the Nidaime's head?"

He paused, likely not expecting her to say such a thing. His face was still against her throat and she felt the brush of his lashes against her skin as he blinked.

"Should we stop?" he asked softly.

"We should… we should go somewhere else," she suggested. "Someplace that's not a big, cold rock."

He pulled back to look at her. "Okay," he said. "We can go wherever you want to."

"Your place."

She saw the hesitancy on his face.

"Sasuke isn't there," she said. "He's with Naruto."

"Okay."

.

Sakura was giddy because she was pretty sure she was about to fuck Itachi. Finally! Ever a gentleman, Itachi had walked her back to his place. She felt the urgency to run there by rooftop, but that was impossible in a dress like hers, so instead she held his hand and walked calmly beside him.

Itachi seemed to sense her excitement and found plenty of excuses to touch her on the way to the Uchiha compound. By the time they had reached his front door, Sakura was quivering with anticipation.

"You seem pretty excited," Itachi said cautiously as they entered his kitchen. She realized then that he was nervous. The walk seemed to have cooled him down a bit and she could see the worry in his eyes.

"Yeah, well," she began. "This Itachi with all the moves really gets me going."

He looked flustered and Sakura found it adorable. "Let me make you some tea," he said, pulling a mug out of the cabinet.

"No," she said, stepping between him and the cabinet. She pulled the mug out of his hand and set it on the counter beside her. "I don't want tea."

His eyes narrowed and she could feel heat emanating off of him. His face hardened a little and he seemed to have found some resolve. Without much warning, he hooked his hands under her thighs and lifted her up onto the counter. He stood between her legs, gripping her hips so tightly that it hurt.

"What _do_ you want, Sakura?"

She hitched her legs around his hips and braced her hands against his shoulders to pull him into a kiss, but when their lips were almost touching he pulled back away from her.

"Tell me," he said.

"I want you."

He pulled her face in to kiss her, but this time she was the one who stopped him.

"Wait," she said, and he let go of her immediately. "Tell me what _you_ want. And be specific."

"I want to kiss you," he said and then kissed her. She kissed him back, lingering and sweet. "And I want to touch you," he continued, sweeping his fingers along her collarbone and down her arms.

She caught his wrists and placed his hands on her waist. She wanted to ask him where he wanted to touch her, to make him tell her all the things he wanted to do to her or that he wanted her to do to him.

But then he slinked his hand away from her waist and up under her dress again, smoothing over her legs and coming back to her hip. His hand was dangerously close to an extremely sensitive bud of nerves and she twisted her body in an attempt to bring it closer.

He pressed a kiss to her temple, then her cheeks, then her lips. Sakura felt herself melting, swooning. In all her time pining after Sasuke she had never felt like this – so on fire, so electric. Her hands flew to his hair where she entangled her fingers and held his face to hers so she could keep kissing him.

She never wanted to stop kissing him. She could feel the heat from his hand still under her dress and though he was only holding her hip, she could feel his hand trembling. She edged herself forward on the counter until there was no space between their bodies.

His hand crept up toward her breasts until the fabric of her dress kept him from moving any higher.

"Just take it off," Sakura said, breaking their kiss just long enough to say it before she had latched her mouth onto his again.

Itachi complied, gathering the fabric of the skirt up in his hands so he could pull it up over her head.

"Wait, don't," she said, grabbing his hands. "You'll mess up my hair. Just unzip it from the back."

"I'm going to mess up your hair anyway, hime," he said, watching her hop off the counter. She spun around so he could unzip her. She felt his fingers at the nape of her neck and he dragged the zipper pull down the length of her back slowly, mesmerized by the reveal of her creamy skin. "How did you get this zipped up in the first place?"

"Ino zipped it," she said, her tone bordering on impatient. When he reached the bottom of the zipper, she pulled the thin straps off her shoulders and let the dress fall down to pool at her ankles.

Now, Sakura wasn't self conscious about her body. She was a kunoichi – her body was a weapon. She was toned and fit.

But she suddenly felt very nervous with Itachi's eyes on her nearly naked body. She was fit, yes. But she lacked the feminine curves that Ino and Hinata had. She didn't have wide hips or round breasts.

Itachi's eyes roved over her, lingering on her exposed breasts for some time before coming back up to her face. She found his awestruck look to be encouraging, so she took a step forward into the circle of his arms.

He brushed the hair away from her face and captured her lips in a searing kiss. She began to unbutton his shirt and she could feel her fingers trembling as she did so. In fact, it made it quite hard to work the buttons.

"Let me," he said, grabbing the collar of his shirt from behind his neck and yanking it over his head. With that one swift motion, he was standing shirtless in his own kitchen.

And now it was Sakura's turn to appreciate. And boy, was there a lot to appreciate. Sakura was no stranger to the male body and as a medic in a shinobi village, she had seen some pretty good ones. Hell, everyone she treated had a nice body.

Itachi was lean. Though he had been quite thin in Toyeiki due to his illness, Itachi had put on a healthy amount of weight since then. Those spars and training sessions with Sasuke had really paid off. She openly ogled him, marveling at the broadness of his shoulders, the defined muscles of his chest, his abdomen. She skimmed the tips of her fingers along his abs, watching them contract against her cold touch.

When she returned her gaze to his face she saw that she was not the only one distracted. His eyes were glued to lower parts of her as well.

"Too small, aren't they?" she asked, only half joking.

"What?"

She cupped her breasts, lifting them up and letting them fall. "These," she clarified. "Little mosquito bites."

"You're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen, Sakura," he said, taking a step back to more fully appreciate her. She wilted a bit under his scrutiny, but the lust in his eyes sent heat coursing through her veins.

She felt cold without his body close to hers, but he didn't seem interested in re-approaching her yet. She watched his eyes as they travelled up and down her body, lingering on her legs, her breasts. Growing somewhat impatient with his staring, she pursed her lips.

Itachi caught the motion and smirked at her, highly amused. "Do that thing where you cock your hip out," he commanded. "You know, when you're being all sassy."

"I am _not_ sassy," she said quite sassily. But she was eager to please him, so she did as he instructed anyway, cocking her hip and giving him a dry look.

Itachi laughed and scooped her up off the floor. She wrapped her legs around his waist instinctively, giggling when he pressed butterfly kisses over her throat and collarbone. He pressed her back up against the wall behind her and kissed her hard, nearly bruising her lips.

He was far less restrained than he usually would be at such a point and Sakura wondered where his change of heart about sex had come from. Perhaps it had been due to their prolonged absence from one another. Or maybe his carefully controlled urges had reached a boiling point.

Whatever it was, Sakura hoped he never stopped kissing her like this. She kissed him back hungrily, greedily, gripping his waist tightly with her thighs. The feeling of skin on skin was electrifying and Sakura bucked into him to alleviate the pressure she felt building up in her core.

Sensing her discomfort, Itachi brushed his finger across the thin cloth covering the last bit of her. She gasped and arched back into the wall, her head hitting the plaster behind her with a dull thud. He rubbed slow, deliberate circles, pressing firmly into her and then following with a ghosting of his thumb. She was going to explode. She was going to spontaneously combust. She writhed against him, moaning and arching. When she opened her eyes she found him watching her with concentration and little bit of awe.

He pulled his hand away from her crotch, much to her dismay. "Itachi, don't stop," she begged breathlessly.

But he circled his arm back around his and cupped her from underneath. She had soaked through her thin panties and she could feel his fingers already slick against her. Gently, more cautiously than Sakura cared for, he nudged aside her panties and began using his fingers to explore her.

It wasn't for purely sexual reasons, Sakura figured. He was touching her, exploring her, trying to understand this part of her anatomy than he had never seen before. Hell, it had taken Sakura quite a while to understand her own vagina, so she could understand Itachi's curiosity.

She winced when his fingernail scraped against her clit – a jolt of the most pleasurable pain Sakura had ever experienced.

"Did I hurt you?"

Sakura shook her head and let her eyes fall shut as he continued to explore.

"You're so wet," he said, breathlessly. "I didn't realize that you—"

Whatever he had been about to say was cut off when Sakura pressed her lips to his impatiently. She needed more. She bucked her hips against him – a real feat as he held her against the wall. Caught by surprise, Itachi grabbed her face, threading his fingers into her hair. She felt her own slickness against her cheek as he touched her and she had no idea such a thing could turn her on so much.

"I'm sorry," he said, wiping her cheek with the back of his hand.

She groaned and grabbed his wrist, pulling it away from her face. She caught his eye and was surprised to see him still looking quite nervous and a little confused. She had never done this before either, but she had already lost herself to the sensations. There was no worry – Itachi wouldn't judge her.

Did he think she would judge him?

Tentatively, she brought Itachi's hand to her face and took his pointer finger in her mouth. His eyes widened almost comically, and if Sakura hadn't been so heated and high she might have laughed. She sucked hard, tasting herself on him, tasting his skin, using her tongue to feel the texture of his fingerprint, the ridges behind his knuckles.

"God, Sakura," he said, releasing a shuddered breath.

She moved his hand away from her mouth and down to her crotch again. She used her hand to press his hard against her while she grinded into it, shivering against the waves of pleasure that were continuing to build up in her core.

Then suddenly his heat was gone. He dropped her to the floor and quickly tossed her his shirt from where he had discarded it on the counter.

"Itachi, what—"

"Sasuke."

With no need for further explanation, she pulled his shirt over her head and smoothed down her hair.

The front door opened unceremoniously and Sasuke entered, looking rather annoyed. With a sigh, he tossed his pack on the floor and turned toward the kitchen where he saw his half naked brother standing with his half naked teammate. His teammate who happened to be wearing his brother's shirt. Probably only his shirt.

"What the fuck, guys?" he demanded with a scowl. "In the kitchen? What's wrong with your bedroom?"

"It's not what it looks like," Itachi said.

"It looks like you were about to fuck my teammate in the kitchen."

"Oh. Then I guess it _is_ what it looks like."


	36. Chapter 36

Itachi did not like being caught off guard. Usually he could sense Sasuke's presence the moment he entered the compound but he had been terribly distracted. Very, very distracted.

Even now, finding himself in an incredibly uncomfortable and confusing situation, he was still distracted. He couldn't get the feeling of Sakura out of his head. The slickness of her sex – God, he didn't know women got _that_ wet. She was practically dripping! And the way she writhed and groaned and melted at his exploratory touch. He had just been testing the waters, gauging her reactions. And what glorious reactions they were.

And the image of her sucking on his finger would be forever burned into his memory. He didn't know such a thing could be so alluring, so enticing, but God he wanted to fold himself up in her and get lost.

"I'm so sorry, Sasuke," he heard Sakura say pleadingly. "I thought you were with Naruto."

"I was," he said, sniffing the air with disdain. "We, uh… We had a little disagreement."

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked. Even in his hormone driven stupor, Itachi had the frame of mind to give her an incredulous look.

"Ew, no," Sasuke said. "I'll just… I'll just come back later."

"Where are you going?"

"Let him go, Sakura," Itachi said, finally getting a tighter grip on his sanity. He could only imagine how uncomfortable Sasuke was. He certainly would not have enjoyed walking in on his brother in a similar situation with Naruto.

"But he's—"

She was cut off by the sound of the front door slamming behind Sasuke. Itachi bent down and scooped Sakura's dress off the floor and took her hand in his. "Come on," he said. "Let's go to my room."

"But…"

He paused, waiting for her to say something else, but she remained silent.

"But what?" he asked. "Would you like me to take you home?"

"What?" she snapped. "No. I just— That was kind of weird."

"Yeah," he agreed. "It was. But he's gone now."

"Aren't you worried about him?"

"He'll be fine."

"How do you know?"

Itachi sighed and rubbed his temple impatiently. "Whatever is wrong with him can wait," he said. "It would only make things awkward for him to have stayed to talk about it."

"You're right," she said with more sass than Itachi wanted to hear. "I'm sorry. I got you turned on so I can't stop now, right?"

"You can stop whenever you want to," he said tensely because it seemed like she said that sarcastically, which annoyed him. "And for the record, _I_ got _you_ turned on."

"Wow, you're irritable when you're horny."

Well he was certainly irritable now, horny or not.

"You're not wrong, though," she said. "You're pretty good for someone who's never done this before."

"I could say the same to you."

"Well I'm no stranger to my own body."

"Pardon?"

"I mean I know how to get myself off," she said with absolutely no trace of embarrassment. And maybe that was how it should be, but he couldn't imagine speaking so frankly about masturbation. He had only done it once before – he certainly wouldn't call himself experienced at it.

And he'd felt disgusted with himself immediately afterwards, guilty even.

But the idea of Sakura masturbating… Well, he didn't find that so disgusting. In fact, he was intrigued.

"Show me," he said.

"Pardon?"

"Show me what you do to yourself," he said. "I want to see."

The confident Sakura who claimed to be an expert at self-pleasure withered before him, blushing and looking bashfully down at her feet. Itachi couldn't resist smiling, amused by her one eighty.

But to his surprise, she didn't protest.

"Okay," she said. "I'll show you."

Itachi's heart began hammering in his chest because that sounded incredibly intimate and erotic. He took her hand and led her to his bedroom, trying hard not to show how nervous he felt. It seemed strange that he would still feel so nervous about this. Sakura hardly seemed bothered at all. If their roles were reversed here, would he masturbate for her if she asked him to? He couldn't imagine doing that in front of her.

But Sakura wasted no time taking off his shirt and situating herself on his bed. It was the first time he could recall her ever being in his bedroom and it seemed so much smaller with her in it. She was so pink compared to the blacks and navies he had chosen to decorate with. And she looked so small on his bed, but something about seeing her there, nearly naked and looking at him like he was the best thing she'd ever laid eyes on made his heart swell in his chest.

"Usually I light some candles," she said with a shy smile. "And I have a vibrator at home, too, so I suppose this won't be entirely accurate."

He wanted to ask about the vibrator, because that was definitely interesting. How often did she use it? How did she use it? Was it an integral part of her pleasure? Was he going to let her down by not being able to vibrate himself?

But he lost focus while she began rubbing herself with straightened fingers. He inched closer to the foot of the bed, watching with rapt attention as she stroked her slender fingers over her soaked panties. Her breath became short and somewhat labored and she quickened her pace, circling her fingers, pressing them against herself and then circling them again.

She pulled the fabric to the side, exposing herself to him in a way she never had before. Itachi had never seen a vagina before and so he wasn't sure what they were supposed to look like, but he found himself vaguely confused because it wasn't at all what he had expected.

He didn't have too much time to process that confusion because watching Sakura slip two fingers into herself sent any of the blood that was left in his brain straight down to his cock, which was now throbbing uncomfortably against his pants. She pumped them in and out, groaning and rocking into her hand.

He chanced a look up at her face – the first one since they'd entered the room, and found her eyes locked onto his. She moaned and bit her lip, arching backward and bringing her free hand up to her breast and giving it a rough squeeze. She released her breast and raked her fingers through her hair, pushing it out of her face.

"Sakura," he rasped.

He watched her slow her pace down, slower and slower until she was completely still. "Yes?" she asked, panting slightly.

"What do you think about?" he asked. "When you're touching yourself?"

"You," she answered without missing a beat.

Itachi didn't quite believe that. If she was experienced enough to have a vibrator and be a self claimed expert, she no doubt had been masturbating long before he came into the picture.

"Really?" he asked, his tone not as dry as he would have liked because he was now watching her return to stroking her clit, which was now exposed and engorged. "Just me? Or us?"

"Us," she said, her eyelids drooping shut before she fluttered them back again to look at him.

"What do we do?"

"You want to hear my dirty sex fantasies?" she asked with a tone that indicated that she knew he did.

He nodded.

"Tell me yours first," she demanded. She let out a high-pitched moan, apparently having touched herself in a particularly sensitive place. Itachi was itching to touch her now, to elicit those noises from her with his own fingers.

"I don't have any," he said. It was a lie.

"That's ridiculous," she said, slipping two fingers back inside herself with a pleasured groan. "What do you think about when you're jerking off?"

"I've only done it once," he answered, knowing that she would not believe that. "And I thought about you."

She stopped, freezing with her fingers still sheathed inside her. "Really? Just once? When?"

He sat down next to her on the bed. He could smell her, could see her wetness on his sheets. "After I helped you clean your room," he said. "You went out partying with Ino and I came back here and sat where you are now and masturbated."

That wasn't so bad, he thought. He could talk about sordid things like that. At least with Sakura, he could.

"What was I doing to you?" she asked, eyes wide with curiosity. "What were you thinking about?"

"I wasn't, umm, imagining you so much as remembering you," he said, a little flustered because this was an entirely new thing for him. "You had straddled one of my legs in your bedroom and I could feel how hot and wet you were. I couldn't stop thinking about it."

She rose up to her knees, inching toward him and then positioning herself over his thigh. "Like this?" she asked.

He couldn't answer, but Sakura was smiling so he supposed she knew what she was doing to him. Reverently, he ran his hands over her legs and up to her hips and then gripped her hipbones tightly and shoved her down into him roughly. She cried out and threw her head back.

"Itachi," she groaned, settling her hands on his shoulders and grinding down on his leg. "Tell me what you want me to do to you."

"I…"

"Tell me," she repeated. She was now sliding herself up and down the length of his thigh, spreading her moisture all over him in a way he should have found gross but actually found incredibly hot.

"I don't know," he said, because he really didn't know. She could keep doing this all night and it would probably do the trick.

"Take your pants off," she commanded. Her bossiness was amusing, but he couldn't spare the mental energy to tease her about it so he just did as she instructed, taking off his undergarments, too, so that he was completely naked.

Itachi hadn't seen many other men naked before, so he didn't know if there was something unusual about his cock. The way Sakura was gawking at him made him feel incredibly insecure. Surely she had seen many of them before in her line of work. Was his weird looking? Was it too small?

"Sakura?"

She blinked rapidly and looked away from his crotch. "Sorry," she said, a redder blush than he had ever seen on her dusting her cheeks. "I just… There's no way that will fit inside me. Who knew that shy, sexually frustrated Itachi would be packing that impressive piece?"

It was Itachi's turn to blush, then, and there were just too many things about that sentence to be able to focus on just one.

She reached out and touched his cock tentatively with the tip of her finger. It twitched and she giggled before stroking the pad of her finger down its length.

"Don't act like you've never seen one before," he said, mostly joking.

"I've never seen one in action," she said, circling her fingers around his girth and giving him a gentle squeeze. He contorted his face and suppressed a groan and the urge to buck into her hand. "And I've never had to… milk one."

If he'd been feeling a little less aroused he might have laughed. All he could manage properly was a wide-eyed smile in her direction.

"What did you do?" she asked, still gripping him, not too tightly. "When you were remembering me. Show me how to do it."

If her hand wasn't already around his cock he might have protested. He wasn't nearly as bold as she was and it seemed like a highly inappropriate thing to do in front of a lady.

However, this particular lady was licking her lips as she cocked her head curiously and studied his somehow very intriguing genitals. And he supposed he could understand her curiosity because she was sitting with her legs crossed and having discarded her panties, there was a certain part of her anatomy that was quite thrillingly exposed to him.

He was torn between wanting to explore her, to touch all of those folds, that engorged swell that seemed to bring her so much pleasure to touch, and wanting to curl his fingers around hers and stroke himself with her slender hand.

She gave him another squeeze, harder this time. He bit back a wince because he was so painfully hard that it kind of hurt.

"I'm sorry," she squealed, and she might have pulled her hand away if Itachi hadn't placed his hand over hers and held it there.

"It's okay," he said, "Not so hard." And whatever embarrassment he felt about jerking it in front a pretty lady flew out the window. He used her hand to pump himself, marveling at how smooth the skin of her palm was compared to his. If just her hand felt this soft, what would other parts of her feel like?

He let his eyes fall shut and groaned. It was a more wanton sound than he had ever made before and he thought briefly that he would wake up at any moment because surely this was a dream. How could anything feel this good?

Feeling dangerously close to coming undone, Itachi slowed down his pace and opened his eyes. Sakura, hand still wrapped around him, was looking into his face with wide eyes that likely mirrored his.

"Does that feel good?" she asked. Laughable that she'd even need to ask. He pulled her into his lap and kissed her hard, clinging to her face with trembling hands. She fervently responded to his urgency. She wriggled down into his lap, pressing her wetness against his cock. They both responded immediately to the contact, gasping into each other's mouths.

She moaned his name and Itachi never imagined his name could sound so sweet, so hot. Their kisses slowed down, but remained heated. He could feel their skin in all the places it touched – nearly everywhere. It was fire, electricity.

She reached her hand down between them and gripped his cock again, now wet with her slickness.

He paused. She paused, looking at him with concerned eyes. "Can I?" she asked, and he knew what she was asking for and he'd already resigned himself to giving her anything she asked for. But somehow, in his pleasure-fogged mind he still realized that they were on the edge of a precipice now – one that would definitely change things for them.

His hand fell to her waist, the curve of her hips. When he didn't answer, she gave him another light squeeze. His eyes fluttered shut, and he didn't want to deny her. He wouldn't deny her this any longer. And he could admit to himself that he wanted it, too. Obviously he did. How could he not?

"Please, Itachi," she begged. "I want you so bad."

He nodded and then kissed her, because he didn't trust himself to speak. Not needing any more encouragement, she positioned herself over him and slowly sank down onto him.

She broke apart their kiss with a sharp moan. If he hadn't been looking at the expression of sheer pleasure on her face he'd have thought she was in pain. She sank down a little farther, screwing her eyes shut.

Her velvety heat swallowed him as she sank all the way down, taking his entire length inside her. Itachi bit back a groan and buried his face in her neck, pressing an occasional kiss to her collarbone when the sensations allowed him to.

He could see now why sex was a big deal. There was nothing he could describe the incredible sensation with. No combinations of adjectives could properly explain the pleasure, the pure bliss he felt.

She was perfectly still against him, her hands threaded in his hair, holding his head against her chest. He felt a fluttering of her muscles around his hardness and groaned loudly into her throat. Sakura giggled.

He pulled back to look at her. "Are you okay?"

She nodded. "I just need a second to adjust," she said. "You're so big."

"Does it hurt?"

"A little."

He made a move to pull her off him, gripping her hips tightly. She stopped him with a shake of her head. "Don't," she said. "Just give me a second."

He let go of her and propped himself up on his hands behind his back. He wondered what that felt like for her, to be filled up by him. He watched her face as she adjusted to his size, the fluttering of her eyelashes, the way she bit her lip. After a minute he began to feel her muscles contracting around him again.

She raised her hips toward his chest and then sank back down again, letting out a pleasured groan. Itachi watched while she did this several more times. The sensation was incredible and the urge to buck into her, to flip her over and just pound into her was so strong her thought for a second that he might actually do it. But he was no barbarian and he didn't want to hurt her.

Her pace was agonizingly slow as she circled her hips around him. She seemed to be enjoying herself very much, moaning and arching her back. She tilted her head back, exposing the column of her neck to him. He took the opportunity to kiss her there because that seemed like an appropriate thing to do.

"Itachi," she whispered and grabbed her breast roughly with one hand and gave it a rough squeeze. Taking her cue, Itachi reached out and cupped her breast, brushing his thumb over her pert nipple. She cried out and arched back. Itachi felt the fluttering of her muscles again. Feeling emboldened and extremely turned on, Itachi kissed the valley between her breasts and then the top of one and then took her nipple into his mouth.

He sucked gently and then swirled his tongue around her pebbled skin. She moaned again, bordering on a scream this time and quickened her pace. Her hips rose and fell as she grinded against him, riding him harder and harder with each thrust of her hips.

It was all Itachi could do to cling onto her and enjoy the ride. A hot stab of pleasure was coiling up in his abdomen and his vision began to swirl. Desperately he grabbed her face and kissed her over and over again, swallowing her moans and cries of pleasure.

Her pace became frantic and her cries elevated an octave. She was coming, and though she had done most of the work he felt a surge of masculine pride. Why, he wasn't exactly sure. And he couldn't spend the required brain energy on thinking about it because he was quickly following her.

The contractions of her orgasm were his undoing. A hot eruption of pleasure made him groan and buck wildly into her as she came down from her high, holding him and letting him finish. He ejaculated inside her and for a moment he wondered if she could feel it – if it felt strange to her.

She collapsed on top of him and he held her, shifting them over so he could rest against the headboard. He felt himself soften inside her, but she made no move to remove him. Instead she clung to him like a koala, nuzzling his chest and neck, stroking lazy patterns across his abdomen. She pressed a kiss to his chest, just above his nipple, which hardened when she breathed over it.

"Itachi," she mumbled. He kissed the top of her head.

"Yes?"

"That was fucking awesome."

He smiled and rested his cheek against her hair. It really was.

.

The next morning Itachi awoke with Sakura still curled up on top of his chest. He extricated himself from her grasp with much difficulty. Sakura, while sleeping like a rock, was still harboring little Itachi inside her, and pulling himself free had been quite unpleasant. The resulting deluge was enough to turn his stomach.

But, being the gentleman that he was, Itachi filled a bowl with warm water and laid out a washcloth for her for when she woke up. It didn't seem appropriate to wash her himself while she was asleep and naked, so he would let her handle that on her own. He would have to remember to wash his sheets today.

He went down to the kitchen to make himself some breakfast. It felt a little strange knowing that she was in his bedroom sleeping soundly. He usually had his mornings to himself.

As he began chopping ingredients, he wondered what might change in their relationship now. He realized that the timing might have been very poor. It didn't seem like a good idea to sleep with someone on the same night they were told that he would have to marry soon. He had been so hesitant to be intimate with her before for a multitude of reasons, one of which was that he didn't know what these consequences would be. Would everything remain as it was between them? What would be different now?

The front door opened and Itachi turned to find Sasuke looking pretty haggard with dark circles under his eyes and his hair a mess.

"Sasuke, what happened to you?"

Groggily, Sasuke eyed Itachi, his gaze lingering on the plated omelets in his hand. With a roll of his eyes, Itachi extended the plate to his little brother.

"I had a rough night," he answered, taking a seat at the kitchen table.

As Itachi set down a plate in front of him, the sounds of a not-so-stealthy ninja running through the house echoed down the halls. Sakura burst into the kitchen, wide eyed and panicked.

With a shock of possessiveness that he wasn't even aware he had, Itachi noticed that she was wearing his clothes – a navy shirt with the Uchiha emblem on the back and a pair of his black pants that were much too large for her. The Uchiha colors looked good on her, he thought.

"I'm late for my shift at the hospital," she said. "Oh, Sasuke. Good morning."

There was an uncomfortable moment of silence while the two teammates sized each other up.

"I made you breakfast," Itachi said, breaking the tenseness and holding out a plate for her. She might not have remembered, but the first time he cooked for her he had made her omelets. It seemed fitting to make them for her now.

"Sorry, Itachi, I can't stay," she said. "But thank you. That's really sweet. You're really sweet."

She pressed a kiss to his cheek, and with her red dress tucked under one arm, she made for the front door. "Bye, Itachi," she called from the door. "I'll wash and return your clothes to you."

"Bye, Sakura," he answered, but the door had already shut behind her.

With a twinge of disappointment, Itachi turned back to his brother who was watching him with a raised eyebrow.

"Thank you for breakfast, Itachi," Sasuke said. "That was _so_ sweet of you."

"Knock it off," Itachi snapped, sending a glare in Sasuke's direction.

"She sure seemed in a hurry to get out of here," he mused. "What did you do to her?"

Itachi narrowed his eyes.

"Hey, I'm only joking," Sasuke said. "Give me a break. I stayed out all night so you could be alone with her."

"You didn't have to do that."

"You were fucking her in the kitchen, Itachi."

Itachi rubbed his temples. He could feel a headache coming on. "Yeah, sorry about that," he said. "It won't happen again."

Silence descended on them. Itachi joined Sasuke at the table with the plate he had made for Sakura. They ate in silence for a while, each brother deep in his own thoughts.

"Tell me about the clan ceremony," Sasuke said when he finished his last bite.

"Okay."


	37. Chapter 37

"Who the hell are Suigetsu and Juugo?"

"Sasuke's friends," Sakura answered. "They were his teammates when he… when he was out of the village."

Tsunade's eyes narrowed. "The ones who helped kidnap you?"

"Yes," Sakura said, eyes sparkling with determination. It had been to her deep embarrassment that Sasuke had caught her with Itachi. She had promised him weeks ago that she would ask Tsunade this favor. This was the least she could do now.

"Tell me why you could possibly care about these delinquents who deliberately tried to hurt you," she demanded.

"They didn't try to hurt me," Sakura said defensively. "And they aren't delinquents. They were Orochimaru's experiments. They didn't commit any crimes against Konoha."

Tsunade pursed her lips. "You're doing this because Sasuke asked you to."

"Yes," Sakura answered. "I owe him a favor."

"Well I don't."

"Please, Tsunade-shishou," she begged. "You can hold me personally responsible for anything that goes wrong."

"Why would something go wrong, Sakura?" Tsunade asked. "Do you think they're going to do something wrong if I let them live here? Why should I grant you this favor if you don't even trust them?"

"No, no!" Sakura said, "I _do_ trust them! Well, I trust Sasuke. Please, they're not going to do anything wrong."

Underneath her desk, Tsunade tapped her toes impatiently. "They had better not," she said. "They have my permission to live here, but I expect you to help them assimilate. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, Tsunade-shishou," she answered.

"Good. Now get out of my office," she said. "But tomorrow morning I want you to report here instead of the hospital. I have something I'm going to teach you now that you're a jonin."

"Yes, Tsunade-shishou," she repeated.

.

After leaving Tsunade's office, Sakura went home to shower. She had felt disgusting all day throughout her shift having not been able to take one that morning, and even though Itachi had been thoughtful enough to leave her a washcloth, she needed a real good scrub.

Because she had fucked Itachi.

They could have been doing that all along, she thought. She should have fucked him back in Toyeiki. Ino had been adamant that the first time was always awkward, but Sakura didn't feel like it had been awkward at all, even in spite of Sasuke's impromptu appearance.

Itachi had been so sweet and wide-eyed. Sakura was beginning to understand Itachi's personality, his moods. He had been nervous – that she could tell. She was nervous, too. But he had also been determined, which was never a quality he had mixed with physical intimacy before.

The more she thought about it, the more she realized how selfish she had been. She could admit that she had been mostly focused on her own pleasure. Itachi hadn't seemed to mind, but she would have to remember to do better next time.

She inwardly squealed at the thought of a next time.

She hopped out of the shower and quickly dressed herself in her red vest, black shorts, and pink apron. She eyed the green jonin vest she had tossed over the chair in the corner of her room. She had yet to wear it, having no occasion where it would be appropriate. She hadn't revealed to anyone yet that she had become a jonin and she wondered what the best way to do it was.

Sasuke and Naruto still needed to take the chuunin exams. Maybe it was best to keep her new promotion to herself until they started to catch up.

"Hey, forehead, you here?" she heard Ino call from the living room.

Sakura poked her head out from her bedroom. "I'm just about to head out to a run a quick errand," she replied. "But it'll only take an hour at most. Do you want to grab dinner when I get back?"

"Sure," Ino said, plopping herself down on Sakura's couch. "I need some best friend time."

.

Sasuke hadn't been at Naruto's apartment. Neither had Naruto, for that matter. So Sakura found herself banging on the door of the main house in the Uchiha compound.

Itachi swung the door open, looking a little irritated. But she beamed at him anyway because had he always looked so good? Ino had also claimed that sex really changed things in a relationship and Sakura hadn't believed her at first. It wasn't _that_ big a deal, was it? But Itachi did look different to her now. He looked… well, she just wanted to kiss him.

"Hi," she said, feeling herself grinning goofily but completely unable to help it.

"Hi," he answered, a grin spreading across his face, too, the irritation melting away. Good, she thought. It hadn't been because of her.

"Is Sasuke around?" she asked.

She immediately regretted asking as she watched the grin slide right off his face, replaced with confusion and then irritation again.

"I just have something I need to tell him real quick," she amended.

Itachi pulled the door open wider, propping it open with his foot. "He's in the kitchen."

With more caution than was probably necessary, Sakura sidled past him and into the entryway. It might have been wiser for her to move straight into the kitchen, because whatever was happening between her and Itachi was still weird and new and she didn't really know what she was doing.

But she did know that she didn't want to barge into his house uninvited, asking for his brother and completely ignoring him. So she turned back around and curled her fingers loosely into the fabric near the collar of his shirt and stood on her tiptoes to give him a mostly chaste kiss on the mouth.

She felt his ire melt a little, maybe not completely but she couldn't be sure. He kissed her back, holding her elbow loosely and stroking the skin there with his thumb.

"I missed you," she said when they broke apart. After having not seen him for several weeks, saying that to him after not even twelve hours apart probably seemed kind of clingy, but he smiled – well, smirked really.

"Did you?" he asked in a very un-Itachi like fashion – almost coyly, flirtatiously.

"Of course," she replied. "I'm sorry I left in such a hurry this morning. I wish I could have stayed for breakfast."

She couldn't tell if it was because of what she had said, but his mood seemed to darken again.

"Anyway," she said, drawing her eyes away from him. "Let me just go talk to Sasuke real quick."

Itachi pressed his lips into a thin line, but nodded to her.

She found Sasuke at the kitchen table, fiddling with a tomato. He picked at its stem in an angry fashion, his face just as dark and irritated as Itachi's had been.

"Sasuke, you've got a storm cloud over your head," Sakura said with way too much pep. "But I have some good news for you."

"I'm not in the mood, Sakura."

"Well, get in the mood because I just did you a huge favor," she said. He spared a glance up at her, which was more like a glare. "I asked Tsunade about Suigetsu and Juugo. She said they're welcome here. I've even been tasked with helping them assimilate."

"What?"

"It was actually pretty difficult to convince her to let them in," she went on. "You should be thanking me right now."

"Thank you?" Sasuke asked, seething. At that moment, Sakura picked up on the bubbling rage in his face that had nearly reached a boiling point. "What the fuck have you done?"

"Umm," she started in an unhealthily sarcastic tone. "I did exactly what you asked me to do. Remember?"

"That was weeks ago, Sakura," he said, nearly yelling. "Do you want to know why Naruto and I were fighting? It was because he thinks I spend too much time with them. And now you've invited them to live here!"

"You asked me to!"

"This is just great," Sasuke said. "Naruto is fucking mad at me and now I have to deal with their stupid asses on top of it."

Sakura crossed her arms with an exaggerated huff. "This isn't my fault, you know."

"Well, if you hadn't dragged your feet on the issue we wouldn't be having this problem right now," he said pointedly.

"Yeah, we would have had it weeks ago instead," she said, also nearly yelling now. "Because that would be so much better, right?"

"Come on, Sakura," Sasuke said. "I asked you to do one fucking thing for me and you screwed it up. When do I ever ask you to do things?"

"Are you fucking kidding me right now?" Sakura demanded. She didn't even know it was possible to feel such blinding rage. How could he be angry with her for doing exactly what he asked her to do?

"Can you just go?" Sasuke said with an exasperated sigh. "You're really pissing me off right now."

As much as she wanted to stay, just to piss him off even more, she felt angry tears prickling at the back of her eyes and she didn't want him to see her cry. So she fled. She threw the door open and made it nearly off the porch before she felt fingers wrap themselves around her upper arm.

"Sakura, wait."

She didn't want to turn to face him. She was crying, probably puffy and her nose was running. And God, he'd already seen her cry plenty. They didn't need to make a habit of this.

"Sakura."

She turned to face him. He didn't recoil at the sight of her, so she took that as a good sign. But then again, Itachi was nothing if not gracious and tactful. He could be inwardly disgusted by her.

"I heard everything," he said. "Are you okay?"

"Shouldn't you be asking Sasuke that?"

He gave her a pointed look. "He was a real asshole to you."

She looked away from him, not able to come up with a meaningful response to that.

"Do you want me to put some old fish in his pillowcase?" Itachi asked with a childish grin. "Or I could fill his shoes with toothpaste."

She cracked a smile.

"I could just stop buying tomatoes," he continued. "Or I won't cook for him anymore."

"Or, you could keep cooking for him, but add special ingredients to his food," she suggested with a grin. "Like maybe a laxative."

He smiled at her recommendation and pulled her into a hug. "How about we go get some dinner?" he asked. "We can go to that teahouse. Or one of those restaurants we passed in the civilian district."

She rested her cheek against his chest, breathing in his scent. "Mm, that sounds good," she said. But then she remembered Ino waiting for her at home. "But I can't. I've got plans with Ino."

She couldn't see his face, but she could feel his body sag with disappointment. The second meal she had declined from him in one day.

"Let's get dinner tomorrow," she offered.

"Okay," he said. It was difficult to tell from the neutrality of his tone, but he sounded appeased.

"My treat."

"Okay, but I'm going to pick a really expensive restaurant."

"Go ahead," she said with a grin. "Get the most expensive thing on the menu. But I _will_ expect you to put out."

He laughed.

.

"My baby's all grown up and having sex," Ino gushed.

They had chosen Ichiraku in a fit of spontaneous originality and now sat perched on the wooden stools with bowls of ramen half eaten in front of them. Sakura rolled her eyes as she took another bite, shaking her head.

"So give me all the details," Ino demanded. "I want to know everything."

Sakura ordinarily did not trust Ino with gossip like this. Sakura wasn't one for gossiping anyway. She occasionally enjoyed a nice blather about Konoha drama, but she usually could make better use of her time.

However, she was dying to talk to someone about her romp in the hay and Ino was very knowledgeable about these things.

"For starters," Sakura began, "He has a huge dick. Like, enormous. Kind of painful, actually."

"Oh, shit," Ino said. "Who would have thought?"

Sakura murmured her agreement, having had very similar thoughts when said appendage had first been revealed to her.

"So did he pin you down to the bed? Push you up against the wall? How did it all start?" she asked.

"No," Sakura said, a blush rising in her cheeks. She didn't know what Ino would think about the fact that she'd masturbated for him and she didn't really want to tell her. "After the clan ceremony we went up to Tobirama's head. He wanted to talk to me about something."

"Oh yeah? Talk?" Ino asked in a way that made it clear she did not believe that was what he wanted at all.

"We _did_ have something important to talk about," Sakura said defensively. "About the clan ceremony."

Ino inched closer to her, waiting for her to continue.

"It was so romantic up there," Sakura said with a dreamy sigh. "It was like sitting in outer space. And then we just started kissing."

"You had sex on Tobirama's head?"

"No, we went back to his place."

"Come on, Sakura, you have to give me more than that," Ino said, wiggling her eyebrows.

"Well, Sasuke interrupted us at one point," Sakura said. "We were in the kitchen, already half naked when he walked in. He seemed really upset."

"That must have been weird for him."

"I suppose," Sakura said. "But he was a real dick to me today so I don't really care."

"What did he do?"

Sakura twisted her lips up before taking another bite of ramen. She probably shouldn't tell Ino Sasuke's business. It was one thing to talk about her sex life, but it was completely uncalled for to go spilling Sasuke's personal secrets to Konoha's biggest gossip.

"I shouldn't say," Sakura said. "But we're mad at him now, just so you know."

"Okay, you know I've got your back," Ino replied.

.

The next morning Sakura reported straight to Tsunade's office instead of taking her usual route to the hospital. It had been a while since she had learned a new technique from her shishou and she couldn't help but feel excited.

At a certain point Sakura realized that she would never have the power that Sasuke and Naruto did. She would always be behind them just by the very nature of her birth. She wasn't an Uchiha prodigy with a coveted kekkei genkai. She wasn't harboring a fox demon that gave her immeasurable chakra.

She could work as hard as possible and still never catch up with them.

But they were both genin while she had been promoted to jonin. She was the most skilled medical ninja in the village. The village needed her; she was important. It was hard to feel too down on herself about it when, for once, everything seemed to be going rather well with her career.

"Ah, Sakura," Tsunade said. "You're here."

"Good morning, Tsunade-shishou."

"Tsunade waved her hand, beckoning Sakura closer. "Come here," she said. "Are you ready to learn this new jutsu?"

Sakura nodded enthusiastically. "What kind of jutsu is it? Medical?"

Tsunade shook her head. "It's a fuinjutsu."

"Fuinjutsu…?"

"Yes," Tsunade replied. "Take a look at the rhombus on my forehead. You're going to learn how to create one for yourself."

Sakura paused because she hadn't been expecting that. She had been expecting some sort of revolutionary medical technique, or maybe an offensive jutsu of some kind. A fuinjutsu certainly wouldn't be her specialty, but she supposed with her level of chakra control that it wouldn't be too difficult.

"It's a yin seal," Tsunade explained.

Sakura knew what it was. She had been curious when she first met Tsunade, a stranger who was replacing the beloved Sandaime, about the glowing diamond on her forehead.

She had known that it was a seal of some kind. She had learned after a little bit of probing research that it was a seal that stored chakra.

"It requires a precise control of chakra," Tsunade said. "Shizune was unable to maintain hers as she doesn't possess perfect chakra control. But you do."

Sakura gave a nod of understanding.

"Essentially, it will give you the ability to fall back on a massive reserve of chakra if you end up in a dire situation," Tsunade said. "And I want to stress to you that you should absolutely not use the seal unless you absolutely have to."

"I understand, Tsunade-shishou."

"You'll need to be storing, adding a little bit of chakra to the seal everyday for several years before it will be sufficient enough to use," she further explained. "And eventually I will teach you how to use my mitotic regeneration technique."

Sakura felt it would have been rude to express her disappointment. She felt guilty for even just feeling it. This was an impressive technique to be learning – one that Shizune hadn't been able to use. Tsunade believed she could do it, so she should feel proud of herself.

But instead she felt a little bit let down. She wouldn't even be able to use the technique for several years. And now she was going to have a damn rhombus on her forehead. As if its magnitude wasn't already enough.

Nonetheless, Sakura listened diligently to everything Tsunade had to say regarding the seal. She was attentive, every bit the studious girl who had excelled at the academy when she was younger.

Tsunade showed her precisely how to direct chakra to the location on her forehead, how to keep it stored there, and how to increase its capacity over time. In spite of finding the technique itself to be a little dull, Sakura found the process fascinating to some degree. Over time, Tsunade had said that her natural chakra reserves might shrink. Though Sakura said nothing about it, she thought she could find a way to prevent that from happening.

So by late morning, Sakura was ready to head down to the hospital for her shift and spend a good bit of time thinking of how to prevent chakra reserve shrinkage.

But just as she was leaving, Tsunade stopped her with a firm clearing of her throat.

"Sakura, wait," she said. "There is one other thing I wanted to talk to you about."

Judging by the tone of her voice, Sakura considered that it wasn't something good. She turned back around to face her mentor with a smile.

"You and Itachi…" she began.

Sakura wanted to look away from her – she felt her cheeks heating up. But she had nothing to be ashamed of or embarrassed about so she held Tsunade's gaze determinedly.

"It was none of my business, so I never asked," Tsunade said. "But things have changed now. I know there is something going on between you two."

"Yes," Sakura agreed. "There is."

"Is it serious?"

Was it? She was fairly certain that Itachi would say yes. Frankly, she would probably say yes, too. But if she told Tsunade that their relationship was serious, would she start to pressure her into marriage?

"I strongly suggest that you take a good hard look at what you're doing, Sakura," Tsunade said with a sternness Sakura hadn't heard since she had first asked Tsunade to be her mentor. "Marriage to Itachi will drastically change the direction of your life. You just became a jonin. Are you going to quit taking missions so you can have his children?"

She had a point, but the patronizing tone she spoke with made Sakura tremble with repressed rage. It wasn't like Sakura hadn't thought of that before.

"Before the clan meeting," Sakura began, "We had discussed whether or not I would be a suitable Uchiha matriarch."

"So it _is_ serious."

"We agreed that we would take things slow and worry about that stuff later," Sakura continued.

"You don't have that luxury anymore."

"He would marry me right now if I suggested it," Sakura snapped. She didn't know if that were true or not, but it seemed like the kind of thing Itachi would do. "But it isn't wrong for us to want to take things slow."

"It isn't," Tsunade agreed, narrowing her eyes. "But Itachi has a duty to his clan and to the village."

"Well, now he has a duty to me, too."

"Does he?"

"I want to take things slow, and Itachi respects that," Sakura said, jutting her chin out boldly. She wouldn't let herself be pushed around, not even by Tsunade. She would get married on her own time – when she and Itachi decided it was best.

"I gave him one year, Sakura. You know that."

"I know."

"If you decided not to marry him at the end of the year, he'll have to marry a stranger," Tsunade pointed out.

"Why would he have to marry a stranger?" Sakura demanded. "Would you really make him do that? After everything he's done for Konoha?"

"The council will make him, Sakura," Tsunade said with an exasperated sigh. "That's why I designed the council. This isn't just my decision. They want Itachi married. They want Uchiha children. We're lucky they forgave him for his crimes at all. If a marriage, a family is what's required to make things right then he should be happy to do it."

"His crimes?" Sakura said, her voice shrill. She was dangerously close to losing her temper – something she'd never done with Tsunade before. "He was protecting us!"

"He was protecting Sasuke and you know it," she retorted. "Do you think he would have done what he did if Sasuke's death was inevitable? Yes, he prevented the coup. He saved a lot of lives. But he did so with selfish interests. If Itachi hadn't done it then Danzo would have and he would not have spared Sasuke."

"Why does that matter?"

"The council, the rest of the village – they're right to be afraid of him," Tsunade said. "I trust Itachi, I do, but I can see why they would be wary of a man who is capable of murdering the people he loves in cold blood."

Sakura didn't respond immediately, because one, she could hear the blood rushing in her ears and the tenseness in her body told her that she needed to calm down. And two, she didn't know how to respond to that. Itachi had said the very same thing to her – that he was capable of vilifying actions and he was dangerous.

But the Itachi she knew would never hurt her. He _hadn't_ hurt her. He was sweet and kind and cared for her in a way that no one else in the village did.

"If the council is so worried about what he might do, then why do they want him to start a family so badly?" Sakura asked, pleasantly surprised by the calm quality in her voice.

"As afraid as they are of him, everyone knows that this is a shinobi village," Tsunade answered, matching Sakura's calmness with her own. "Things are always more complicated than they appear. Itachi committed crimes, but so have the rest of us. His were just against his own family. A family that could make us a stronger village. The Sharingan is an invaluable tool to have at our disposal."

Even though it seemed pretty fucked up from Sakura's perspective, to force two people into marriage so they could breed warrior children who would fight for their village, Sakura kind of understood.

"Would you be happy?" Tsunade asked. Sakura looked up at her, dragging her eyes away from the floor by her feet. "Would you be happy being his wife? Being the Uchiha matriarch?"

Sakura shrugged. "Maybe. I don't know."

"Sakura, if you were anyone else I would force you to break up with him," Tsunade said with an almost wistful sigh.

"Why?"

"I know you care about him. I know he's important to you so I won't make you do that," she said. "But if you don't plan on marrying him at all… If you wouldn't be happy to be his wife then you need to break it off. It will only hurt worse if you let the relationship fester."

"Why do you think I wouldn't want to marry him?" Sakura asked, puzzled. "Itachi said the same thing."

"He did?"

"Yeah, after the ceremony he gave me an out," Sakura answered, her emotions deflating a little. "He told me he didn't expect me to marry him – that he understood if I wouldn't."

"What did you tell him?"

"I want to take things slow, but I'm not opposed to marrying him."

Tsunade took a deep breath in a held it for a moment before releasing it slowly. She steepled her hands in front of her face and fixed Sakura with a determined gaze. "Listen, Sakura," she said. "You've got a year. You just became a jonin. Think about what it is you want to do. You can join ANBU. You could start developing your own medical jutsus. But once you're married, you'll have an entirely different set of responsibilities. You'll have to give up a lot. You're already spreading yourself so thin."

Sakura nodded, letting Tsunade's words sink in.

"Make smart decisions, Sakura," Tsunade said. "I'll be here to give you advice if you need it."

"Thank you, Tsunade-shishou."


	38. Chapter 38

In spite of having a rough day, Itachi was in a good mood. The day prior, having started out on an excellent note with Sakura wrapped snuggly (and somewhat damply) around him, had only gotten worse with each passing hour.

Sakura had left in a hurry, of course. He knew she was busy so he didn't take it personally, but it was still unpleasant after having had sex with her (or anyone) for the first time that night.

So instead he had eaten the breakfast he had prepared for her with Sasuke. Naturally, Sasuke wanted to discuss the clan ceremony at length, which led to a lot of bickering.

First Sasuke had been angry with the council and Hokage. They were the ones forcing Itachi to do something he didn't want to do. This was not the first time such a thing had happened and it seemed Sasuke really felt some sympathy for his older brother.

But then he couldn't see why Itachi wouldn't just marry Sakura now. It was in everyone's best interest, he claimed. The restoration of the Uchiha clan was more important than whatever Itachi was feeling. He would get over it. He liked Sakura, didn't he? Why wouldn't he marry her?

That was the wrong question to be asking, Itachi though. There was no doubt in his mind that he would marry Sakura. Of course he would. Rather, the question should be why wouldn't she marry him?

But he knew the answer to that, too. She would marry him. Someday. Maybe. Well, he was still a little unsure.

Either way, the conversation with Sasuke had not gone well and he had stormed out of the compound in search of Naruto. Naruto – who he still had not made up with after their fight.

Itachi had been privy to a rant about that as well. He didn't have much advice to offer, and he was too afraid that the sound of his voice might have dissuaded Sasuke from continuing to open up about her mysterious relationship. And being deeply curious about it, Itachi listened with rapt attention.

He only caught bits and pieces, the severely disjointed deluge of information coming from someone who was practically foaming at the mouth.

Juugo needed him, he had claimed, to be his cage. And Suigetsu was a good friend who had stood by Sasuke when he needed him most. Naruto was being selfish, blowing things out of proportion. Yes, he snuck away every once in a while to pay short visits to his mismatched friends. It didn't mean he loved Naruto any less.

Itachi stopped listening for a moment after that because he hadn't realized that Sasuke loved Naruto. It was a somewhat new concept for him because the only person he could really claim to love was Sasuke. Did he love Sakura as well? He thought he might.

And speaking of Sakura, she had made everything so much worse by going to Tsunade and getting Juugo and Suigetsu probationary citizenship. How could she have done such a thing? What was she thinking?

It was that moment that Itachi chose to speak and let Sasuke know exactly how wrong he was to be mad at her for that.

Which led to more bickering.

Itachi did not like to fight with his brother, so he busied himself with cleaning instead. He washed the sex off his sheets. He scoured every pot and pan in the kitchen. He did laundry.

And he was tired. He hadn't intended to argue with his brother for the better part of the day (and also yesterday), so he was left feeling a bit dissatisfied with the amount of work he had gotten done, which was none. He had errands to run, things to do before his dinner with Sakura later that night.

But unfortunately, those things would have to wait. Sakura would be finishing up her shift at the hospital soon, so he needed to get ready.

He showered quickly and put on some of his nicer clothes. They were going to an expensive restaurant, after all. And if it was going to be Sakura's treat, then he couldn't show up empty handed so he made his way to the Yamanaka's flower shop. Flowers were a standard gift to bring for something like this, he thought. They weren't too serious, but they showed effort.

He had expected Ino to be there and she was. It was his good fortune that she was because Itachi realized he didn't know what kind of flowers Sakura liked.

"Itachi-san," she greeted when she saw him, flipping her long blonde ponytail over her shoulder. There was a curious knowing in her gaze, one that deeply unsettled him. "What can I do for you?"

"I'd like to get some flowers for Sakura," he said. "Do you know what kind of flowers she likes?"

Ino sighed kind of dreamily and drummed her fingers along the countertop in front of her. "Sai used to buy me flowers sometimes," she said wistfully.

Itachi didn't know what to say to that, and he began to feel slightly uncomfortable. For a few moments, Ino was in a daze, gazing far off into the distance with her head in the clouds.

After what he hoped was a polite minute, Itachi loudly cleared his throat.

"Oh, sorry, Itachi-san," she said. "I kind of spaced out there."

He assured her that it was no problem and watched as she turned behind her to fiddle around with the flowers behind her. He watched with partial interest as she arranged some stemmed flowers together in a bouquet, tying them together with pink ribbon and then wrapping them with a swath of red silk.

"Here you go," she said, extending the bouquet to him. "She'll love these."

"Thank you, Ino-san."

He paid for the flowers and left.

.

He wasn't sure why he felt so nervous when he knocked on her door. He'd already had sex with her, so it seemed the hard part should be out of the way. But for some reason, his stomach was doing flips while he waited patiently for her to open the door for him.

He fiddled nervously with the ribbon around the flowers until she swung the door open, looking rather flustered.

"Itachi," she said, smiling brightly at him in a way that exacerbated the stomach flips.

"Sakura," he replied with a smile of his own. Somewhat awkwardly, he extended the bouquet of flowers to her. "These are for you."

Still smiling, she furrowed her brow with confusion. "You bought me white lilies?" she asked. "Why white lilies?"

Itachi floundered a bit because he hadn't expected her to ask such a thing. Perhaps he should have come up with a flower that held some significance or symbolism. Or maybe he should have asked Ino what lilies were supposed to represent. They didn't represent something morbid like death, did they?

"Cherry blossoms seemed a bit cliché," he answered.

"Ino helped you pick these out, didn't she?"

That couldn't have been difficult for her to figure out, but Itachi still felt heat bloom in his cheeks. Perhaps he should have chosen chocolates instead. "She did," he answered.

Sakura burst into laughter, throwing her head back. She laughed until tears sprang up in her eyes and then doubled over and laughed some more.

Obviously missing the joke, Itachi twisted his lips and waited. He might have been annoyed if her laughter hadn't been so pleasant to listen to.

"What's so funny?" he demanded when her laughter had subsided.

"Nothing, Itachi-kun," she said, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek. "Let's get going. I'm starving."

.

This was their first official date and the timing couldn't have been worse. Word had begun to spread around the village that Itachi was in desperate need of a wife. Itachi didn't have much experience with the civilian district, but he remembered that the area was a breeding ground for rumors and gossip.

So it came as a surprise to neither of them that many people pointed and whispered about them as they walked through the market. Itachi, true to his word, had chosen a rather expensive restaurant – one he remembered passing the day he had gone grocery shopping with Sakura.

It was almost a refreshing change of pace. He would much rather be ogled because he was on a date with a pretty girl than because he was a clan betraying murderer.

Sakura, however, seemed a little bit more disturbed by the staring. He didn't miss the worried expression on her face – the crease between her brows. She was bothered.

"We can leave if you want to," Itachi offered just as they sat down. He had asked the hostess for a private booth in the back, and with a little intimidation factor from his Sharingan, they were immediately shown to their seats. "We can go back to my place and I can cook dinner for you."

"No, no," she said. "This is perfect. Sorry if I'm a little distracted. I've got a lot on my mind right now."

"Are you okay?"

She sighed and bit her lip, but she didn't look unhappy. The dim lighting around her made her hair look like it was glowing and she looked like a bubble of brightness in the darkness of the restaurant. Belatedly, he realized that the muted sheath dress she was wearing was navy blue and he wondered if that had been intentional.

"Yeah," she said. "It's just that I have so much going on right now. I've been working on my offensive medical jutsus, Tsunade is teaching me a fuinjutsu, and I just got promoted to jonin. Plus I still have my shifts at the hospital and I now I have to deal with—"

She cut herself off before she could finish the sentence, but Itachi knew what she was going to say. She still had to deal with him. With the little issue of impending marriage.

"You got promoted to jonin?" he asked, focusing on something positive instead. "That's impressive. Congratulations."

Her smile widened at his praise, which made Itachi feel lighter than air.

She chatted animatedly about Naruto some more, throwing in an occasional story about Sasuke as well. For his benefit, he assumed, she told stories about Team 7 before Sasuke left, regaling him with the tales he had wanted to hear all the way back in Toyeiki when seeing his brother again was an unknown, or worse – a death sentence.

Only this time he could laugh at Sasuke's little quirks. He could smile at Sakura without fear of her suspicion. He could reach across the table and touch her hand, twining their fingers together.

It occurred to him that if he hadn't met her in Toyeiki that he would be very much dead right now. He would never have made reparations with Sasuke. He would never have come back to Konoha.

She paused in the middle of her story and looked up at the light fixture above them. Itachi followed her gaze, but found nothing of interest. She continued to stare unblinkingly for a moment while Itachi watched with his head cocked in curiosity. Then she sneezed into her elbow.

Itachi felt himself grinning widely because that was weird and adorable and now she was blushing.

"Looking at bright lights helps me sneeze," she explained.

"How cute."

She rolled her eyes, but she was grinning so he took her hand and brought it to his mouth so he could kiss her palm.

"Can I ask you something?" she asked, blushing still.

"Of course."

"Yesterday when I came over to talk to Sasuke you seemed kind of upset…"

So he hadn't hid that quite as well as he had hoped. He'd been arguing with Sasuke, which was the reason for his poor mood, but he didn't really want to tell that to Sakura because it sounded juvenile. And she might ask what they had been arguing about – which had been the looming marriage deadline. Not a subject he wanted to broach with her right now.

When he didn't respond after a moment, she raised an expectant brow. "Why were you upset?" she finally asked.

He shook his head and gave her a tiny smile. "Nothing you need to concern yourself with," he answered. "Just family stuff."

He had expected her to be disappointed, maybe a little frustrated. What he hadn't expected was for her to be angry. She didn't say anything, but he could tell by the fuming expression on her face that he had really upset her.

With body language that was a bit too frosty for Itachi's liking, she continued to pick at her food, not so much eating it as pushing it around her plate.

"Sakura," he said in that tone he might have used if he were reprimanding Sachi.

She didn't seem to like that either.

"What?" she snapped.

"I didn't mean to upset you," he said.

"Why won't you tell me why you were upset?"

Maybe it would be better to just tell her, he thought. But inwardly he felt that it was wrong of her to expect him to divulge any information she wanted to her. However, he could use that selfishness to his advantage.

"I'll tell you why I was upset if you tell me why you laughed at the white lilies."

It seemed that even just being reminded of the lilies was funny, because Sakura cracked a smile and then started giggling, which was much better than the pouting she had been doing before.

"White lilies represent chastity," she said with a humored grin. "You know. Purity. Ino was messing with you."

Itachi felt his cheeks flame up because that was certainly not an appropriate flower to give to someone he had literally just had sex with. But then it occurred to him that for Ino to have played such a prank she had to have known about him and Sakura sleeping together.

"You told her?" he asked accusingly.

"Yeah, she's my best friend," Sakura replied with a shrug. "I tell her everything. She'd been hounding me about losing my virginity for a long time, so it would have been downright cruel not to tell her."

Itachi didn't agree with that. He was a fairly private person and he couldn't imagine sharing information like that with anyone. Well, maybe her. But that was different.

"What exactly did you tell her?"

Sakura grinned at him. "Are you fishing for compliments, Itachi-kun?" she asked teasingly. "I told her you were so big that it hurt."

"It hurt?" Itachi asked with concern. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Her smile softened and she reached out and grabbed his hand, linking them together on top of the white tablecloth. "It _did_ hurt," she answered. "In fact, I'm still sore. But it was a good hurt. I liked it."

A flush of heat travelled from his chest all the way up to his ears and some part of him was deeply thrilled both that it hurt and that she liked it. Somehow that combination was enticing.

"Can't you heal yourself?" he asked. "So you aren't sore?"

"Oh, sure," she said with a dismissing wave. "But it's good to let my body heal on its own sometimes. You know, so I don't start to feel like I'm immortal. Besides, I like the subtle reminder throughout the day."

"Reminder?"

"That I had sex with the great Itachi Uchiha," she said with a charming grin that would have made Itachi's knees buckle if he had been standing.

Her directness about it was both refreshing and terrifying. Not that he thought they shouldn't ever mention it, but her eagerness, how much she had enjoyed herself, the fact that she was still glowing from it – it was a bit overwhelming.

"Now tell me what you were so upset about."

"I was arguing with Sasuke when you came over," he explained. "That's why we were both in a bad mood."

"Oh."

She cast her eyes down to her plate and continued to push her food around. He wished he could have known what she was thinking just then. The sadness that flickered across her face was curious – he wondered why she'd feel sad. He wanted to ask her, but he didn't. It seemed as though she wasn't going to ask specifically what they had been arguing about, much to Itachi's relief.

They ate in silence for a few minutes, neither of them quite knowing what to say. The waitress dropped their check at the table and Sakura quickly snatched it up like she thought he might try to take it.

She pulled a stack of ryo out of her pocket and laid it on the table. Itachi caught her eye over his glass of water and gave her a dry smirk.

"Thank you," he said softly.

"Come on," she said, pulling him out of his seat. "Let's go for a walk."

.

Itachi was caught off guard when instead of walking back through the civilian district, Sakura led him through the Konoha gates.

"Where are we going?" he asked as he followed her into the thick trees.

She gave his hand a gentle squeeze, tossing him a sweet smile over her shoulder. "I want to show you something," she said.

He wanted to protest because it was getting rather dark and being outside the village reminded him too much of when he was a missing-nin, unable to come home. There were probably ANBU making rounds even now – a thought that set him on edge.

It wasn't like he couldn't be outside the village at all. He went on missions still. He just felt like they were doing something wrong by being outside the gates after dark. Like he was a child who should have been home in bed already.

Sakura dragged him along through the trees, stopping every once in a while to gaze upward into the treetops.

"What are you looking for?" he asked.

"You'll see."

She led him about a mile or two into the forest, stopping at the base of a particularly large tree – one that towered well above the rest. Without the aid of chakra, she began to climb the tree, hefting herself up amongst the branches.

"What are you doing?" he asked her, dodging a branch she had inadvertently snapped from the tree and let fall below her.

"Come on," she answered. "We're climbing the tree."

He followed without any further questions, taking her lead and also avoiding the use of chakra. It was somewhat exhilarating being behind her while she climbed a tree in a rather short dress. He could see parts of her that should have been covered and he knew that she must have been aware of that.

He supposed it must have been intentional – that she had planned to take him to dinner and then lead him up into a tree wearing a navy blue dress and what he suspected were red panties.

And upon closer inspection, as they neared the top of the tree and Sakura came to a stop, they were indeed red.

Sakura shifted herself on the branch she sat on, moving over so that Itachi could share the branch with her. It was wide enough for them to both comfortably sit on without fear of losing their balance.

Itachi braced himself against the trunk of the tree, lifting his arm so that Sakura could settle herself underneath it. Their backs were to the village and all they could see were trees tops stretching around them like fluffy green clouds.

Without the lights from the village, the stars seemed even brighter. Itachi found himself mesmerized by the colors – the swirls of indigo and violet, the nebulas and clusters of shining lights that dotted the sky.

"This is what you wanted to show me?" he asked.

She nodded and snuggled closer to him, leaning against his body and trusting that he wouldn't let them fall. "Yeah, isn't it pretty?" she said.

He murmured his agreement against the wisps of her hair that blew around his face in the gentle breeze.

"How did you find this tree?" he asked.

"When I was little I was out here picking flowers with Ino," she said. "And I lost her somehow so I thought if I climbed up the tallest tree I would be able to see her."

"But you can't see the ground from here."

Sakura laughed. "Yeah, I didn't find her. I was too distracted by the view. It was light outside then and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. The sun was starting to set and I could see the moon already. I stayed here for a long time. Ino ended up leaving without me."

"This is a pretty big tree for a little girl to climb," Itachi said. "What if you fell?"

"I _didn't_ fall," she said with a hint of sassiness. "I've been up here millions of times. I might fall out of other trees. But not _this_ tree."

"Millions of times, huh?"

"Yeah, I like to come up here to think."

Itachi understood that. He had had a very similar perch in Akatsuki's base in Rain – one high up in one of the tallest buildings where he could see the entire village.

They fell into a comfortable silence. Itachi listened to the sounds around him – crickets down below, the way the wind rustled the leaves. Sakura's breathing was even and Itachi found himself matching his breaths with hers.

"What are you thinking about now?" he asked, suddenly curious.

She sighed contentedly and wrapped her arm tighter around him. "Well, I'm thinking about how much I like you. And how glad I am that you're back in Konoha now. And how having sex with you was literally the best thing ever. And how happy I am being next to you."

Itachi's chest constricted almost painfully and affection surged up in him.

"I remember right after you'd come back to the village you told me I was pretty," she continued. "On the bridge after I slapped you. I remember thinking how crazy it was for you to say that after I'd just hit you. But you were so sweet. And I felt so bad about it."

She turned her face to the side and kissed his cheek. "I still feel guilty about it," she said, her lips still against his skin.

"If I recall correctly," Itachi said, taking on a bit of Sakura's sass. "You asked me if I really thought you were pretty. I didn't just call you pretty out of the blue."

Sakura laughed. "Of course not," she said. "Your heart might have exploded."

"Hearts are fragile things, Sakura," Itachi said solemnly.

"Yes, yes, they are."

"But I feel pretty confident now that you won't slap me now, so I'd like to tell you that you are, indeed, very beautiful," he said. "Especially in this blue dress. Did you wear it just for me?"

"Sure did," she said smugly. "I saw the way you were looking at me when I was wearing your clothes."

"The Uchiha colors really suit you."

"Every color suits me, Itachi-kun," she said cheekily. "I just happen to know that you like me best in navy and red."

"You don't look so good in orange," he said with a grin.

She elbowed him in the ribs.

They sat in silence for a few more minutes, enjoying the view and each other's company. Eventually, Sakura sat up and yawned, stretching her arms over her head like a kitten.

"We should get going," she said. "I have to work in the morning."

Itachi followed her down the tree trunk, still grinning like an idiot as she watched her swing expertly through the branches. When she landed in the grass he saw her look up and freeze, her posture rigid and tense.

His hackles immediately raised, he activated his Sharingan and landed beside her in the grass.

"Sakura, dear, I appreciate the effort but I think you know I meant a little bit farther away from the village than this."

"Fuck off, Danzo," she replied. "I never agreed to anything."

Thoroughly confused, Itachi flicked his eyes between Sakura and Danzo, who had somehow managed to sneak up on them. Feeling rather alarmed, Itachi latched onto Sakura's arm, pulling her closer to him and stepping in front of her.

"Oh, don't worry," Danzo said, hobbling forward on his cane. "I don't plan on hurting her."


	39. Chapter 39

Sakura should have seen this coming. She knew Danzo was out here, lurking around the perimeter of the village. She knew Danzo had unfinished business with the Uchihas. She should never have taken Itachi out here. She had put his life in danger. She had made a mistake.

"Since you wouldn't do what I asked you to do," Danzo said, his one visible eye narrowed and looking directly at Sakura. "I'll have to do it myself."

Itachi was standing in front of her now, and she didn't need to see his face to know that his Sharingan was activated. She could feel the sourness of his mood rolling off him in waves. Any of the endorphins that had made their appearance while they were canoodling in the tree were long gone, replaced with fury that was thick enough to feel in the air.

Sakura truly regretted having brought him out here.

"Itachi, you really are a loyal shinobi," Danzo said. "You were one of the very few Uchiha with a solid moral fiber."

Itachi bristled. Sakura minutely felt the compulsion to agree with Danzo on that one, but she wasn't knowledgeable enough about the Uchiha clan to make such a speculation. Itachi, it seemed, highly disagreed.

"Shisui was loyal," Itachi countered. The tone of his voice was different somehow – more like the one he had used with her back in Toyeiki. This was Itachi the Shinobi. "Shisui cared about Konoha and because of you he's dead."

"I didn't kill the boy," Danzo said, and Sakura could tell from his tone that he knew Itachi knew that.

"You took his eye."

"His plan wouldn't have worked," Danzo countered. "I was only saving you time in the end."

"Not me," Itachi said. "You. You were saving yourself time. You were glad to be rid of us. That's why you're here now, isn't it? To finish the job?"

"Wrong," Danzo said. "I'm not here to kill you. In fact, you should ask your girlfriend why I'm here. I'm here to do what she wouldn't."

Sakura winced because she really didn't want to explain to Itachi that she had hidden something like that from him for so long. To her, it didn't really matter what she did – the result would be the same. Itachi and Sasuke would remain in Konoha. Danzo would be killed, because there wasn't another option, was there?

There was no world in which she would ask Itachi and Sasuke to leave their home. There was no way she would let Danzo get away with what he had done.

Itachi didn't turn to look at her, but she saw the way he tensed up in front her. She took a step closer to him, fisting her hand in the fabric at the back of his shirt.

"We have to get out of here," she whispered to him. "We can't fight him right now."

He ignored her.

"What is it that she wouldn't do?"

"Tell him, Sakura."

"Don't speak to her," Itachi said fiercely. The vehemence in his tone almost scared her. "I'm asking you."

Danzo laughed and took a step closer to them, prodding the grass in front of him with his cane. "Don't be so intense, Itachi," he said. "I'm not here to hurt either one of you. Unless you refuse me."

"Refuse you?"

"I want you to leave," he answered. "I want you to abandon Konoha and never return. I don't want to ever see another Uchiha step foot in this village again."

Feeling bold and angry, Sakura stepped around Itachi and pointed an accusatory finger at Danzo's chest. "Just what the hell do you have against the Uchihas anyway?" she demanded. "They're a founding clan. They have an unparalleled kekkei genkai. They are an asset to the village. Why do you want them gone so badly?"

Itachi's fingers curled around her arm and pulled her gently back behind him. She didn't protest, but she was still seething.

"I'm not leaving Konoha," Itachi said. "And neither is Sasuke."

"Then as I told Sakura," Danzo began. "I'll have to kill the both of you."

"Itachi—"

Before she could say anything more, Itachi swooped her up and began to run. She had been about to suggest that they run, so this worked out perfectly for her, but she did note that it was a bit humiliating for him to have picked her up instead of letting her run on her own. Being snatched up off the ground like a sack of flour was not something that a kunoichi should routinely be subjected to. Danzo wasn't even following them.

He took her up to the village gates and then expertly leapt over them. Once they were on the safe side of the wall, he set her down. He looked absolutely livid and though Sakura wanted to talk to him – they certainly had things that needed hashing out now – she couldn't bring herself to speak.

"Sakura," he began in a voice that reminded her very much of her father when he was angry with her. "What was that about?"

"Don't be angry," she said. She realized then that that probably wasn't the best way to start off what she was going to say. She watched a flicker of something she didn't recognize in Itachi's face.

"Do I have a reason to be angry?"

"I spoke with Danzo before his trial," she answered. "He specifically asked to speak to both me and Naruto. Naruto refused, but I met with him anyway."

"Why?"

"Because I was curious," she said. "I thought he might share some useful information with me."

He stared at her blankly.

"He basically told me that I needed to convince you and Sasuke to leave Konoha and that if I didn't, he would kill you," she said, tumbling over the words too quickly so that they came out a jumbled mess.

He swallowed and she saw a look of pain settle on his face – not a flash, but a lingering. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I thought about it. I know you're a lot smarter than me, a lot better at this kind of stuff," she said in a blatant attempt to butter him up. "But you seemed so happy and I didn't want to put more stress on you. Things were starting to go well for you and for us and I figured it would be a long time before he tried to do anything."

He stood still for a long time. Even though his eyes were on her, she could tell that he was looking straight through her, not seeing her. She didn't know what he was thinking – if he was upset with her. His expression was completely blank.

Nervously, she bit her lip and sighed. This was not at all how she had hoped this whole Danzo thing would go. Hopefully he would choke on his food tonight and save them all from having to deal with him.

Itachi cleared his throat and Sakura looked up at him. His brow had furrowed and with his Sharingan still activated he looked rather menacing.

"Are you angry?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

He took a step toward her and gripped her chin with his fingers, tilting her face up to his. "Not with you, hime," he said. A wave a relief washed over her. She could have cried.

She reached forward and wrapped her arms around his waist, holding him tightly. "I'm sorry," she mumbled into his shirt.

He pushed her away gently and kissed her forehead. "Go home," he said.

"But, Itachi—"

"Now, Sakura."

If he had been anyone else in any other situation she would have protested. She wasn't particularly fond of the sternness in his tone, or the fact that he'd given her an order. But something in his face, the darkness she hadn't seen in his eyes since she'd first met him, told her that it would be best to do as he said.

So she did.

.

Sakura tossed and turned all night. She wasn't the type to usually have trouble sleeping, but with so many things weighing heavy on her mind she was having a hard time shutting off her brain.

After a fretful four hours of sleep, Sakura sent a message to Tsunade informing her that she would be unable to come into work. It wasn't something she had ever done before – the best medic in the world didn't get sick. She hoped Tsunade would understand and not be too upset with her.

She couldn't focus properly on sleeping so there was no way she could be at the hospital, or working on her jutsus, or whatever it was she should have doing about the fact that she had not taken notes at the clan ceremony and therefore would have nothing to give Tsunade when she asked for them.

And thinking about Itachi was absolutely out of the question. Guilt wracked her and she worried that either he might do something drastic or that Danzo would make another attempt on his life.

With so many pieces of her life being the source of her stress, Sakura chose to spend the day with Yamato and Sachi rather than do anything _productive_. They were the one responsibility that never caused her any stress.

So she had scooped them up from her parents' house and taken them down to the brook just underneath the stone faces. The morning air was balmy and warm, not trace of the biting chill that sometimes clung to the night air. It was the perfect day for a swim.

Sachi, who had grown quite fond of music in all her time living in the civilian district, had brought along a little plastic flute. In spite of Sakura's annoyed protests, Sachi steered clear of the water, choosing instead to march around with her flute, blowing discordant notes in her direction.

Bemused and exasperated, Sakura kept a rueful eye on her while she simultaneously watched Yamato, who had been learning water jutsus from Kakashi and was practicing making water clones.

It didn't quite keep her mind as occupied as she would have hoped. She sat near the bank of the brook, dipping her toes into the warm water. It was almost always like this with Yamato and Sachi – they hardly spoke to one another when they were together. In Toyeiki she had taken on a parental role with them – both she and Itachi had. But now with her parents taking care of them, it was difficult to know where she fit into their lives.

Yamato had Naruto, Itachi, Kakashi, and a plethora of people from the academy to teach him things about being a ninja. Sakura didn't really have anything extra to add to that since Yamato didn't seem all that interested in medical ninjutsu. She wasn't his mentor, his teacher, his mother, or his guardian. So what was she? His friend? His sister?

And Sachi was still far too young to be close to in any meaningful sense. Although, she got the sense that Itachi felt a certain bond with her that Sakura didn't really understand. In Toyeiki it had bothered her because it seemed inappropriate, but now it bothered her because she wanted to have it, too.

It had probably been a while since they had seen each other, Sakura thought. Maybe if Itachi was still in a bad mood the next time she saw him she could offer to bring Sachi around at some point.

Drifting into her thoughts, Sakura leaned back on her forearms, toeing the water experimentally. While she contemplated diving into the water, she felt a gentle splash of water break on her arm.

"Why do you always look sad?" Yamato asked from her right, flicking another light splash of water at her.

"I'm not sad," she answered.

"Then why do you _look_ sad?" he asked.

She shrugged. "Maybe it's just my face."

"Nah, you have a pretty face," he said, prompting a pink tinge across cheeks. "Except when you're sad. You look all… mopey."

"I'm not mopey."

"You can tell me what's wrong, Sakura."

"Nothing's wrong," she insisted, sending a fistful of water in his direction. "In fact, I became a jonin recently. You inspired me."

"That's great!" he exclaimed. "Pretty soon I'll be one too! Then we can go on missions together. Wouldn't that be awesome?"

"You want to go on missions with me?"

"Yeah!" he said. "Iruka-sensei said that every team needs a medic. You're the best medic in the village – why wouldn't I want you on my team?"

Sakura laughed. "I just thought you'd prefer to have someone closer to your own age on your team with you. Aren't there any aspiring medics at the academy with you?"

"Sure," Yamato said with a roll of his eyes. "But they aren't nearly as good as you are."

"No one is." Sakura said with mock seriousness.

Yamato gave her a wry smirk that bled into a full-blown grin.

"You're good for my ego, Yamato-chan," Sakura said with a smile. "I always feel better after talking to you."

A particularly sharp and high-pitched note from Sachi's flute made the both of them wince and glance over at her. She teetered dangerously close to the water, walking with her feet in a perfect line along the muddy bank.

"She sure likes that flute a lot," Sakura observed.

"Mom and dad don't let her play it in the house," Yamato answered. "She's probably really excited to have a chance to play it."

Sakura blinked her eyes in surprise. She had never heard Yamato refer to her parents as mom and dad before. Did that make them siblings?

"I think they're going to push her into pursuing music," Yamato said. "Even though she doesn't seem interested in it at all, they really don't want her to become a ninja."

Sakura nodded in understanding. "They didn't want me to do it either."

Yamato looked up at her, squinting against the brightness of the sun. "But you did it anyway?"

She nodded again. "I really wanted to do it. They didn't stop me. They tried to talk me out of it, but they didn't make a big fuss about it. I know they were just worried about me. I can understand why. I'm a pink haired waif. It's a huge surprise that I'm a successful ninja."

"What does being a pink haired waif have to do with you being a ninja?" Yamato asked.

Sakura smiled. "It's just an unexpected juxtaposition – ninjas are usually big brawny men."

"Like Itachi-san."

Like Itachi-san. Sakura had never really thought of Itachi as big and brawny, but she supposed he would look that way to Yamato. Especially considered the circumstances of how they met.

"Yamato-chan," Sakura said, her voice a low murmur, just barely audible over the rushing water. "Are you ever afraid of Itachi?"

He furrowed his brow and pursed his lips. Sakura could tell the question caught him off guard. "I was afraid of him when I first met him," he answered. "Because I thought he was going to kill me."

"And you're not afraid of him now?"

"He wouldn't hurt me," Yamato said confidently. "I have no reason to be afraid of him."

"But doesn't it ever bother you that he was sent to kill your father?" she persisted.

"He wasn't the one who killed my father," Yamato said. "It was that shark guy. And he would have died anyway. I know my father did something bad. Lots of people wanted him dead. I can't hold a grudge against Itachi for that. Especially since he helped Sachi and me afterwards. He could have just left us there. He had no obligation to take care of us, but he did anyway."

Sakura inhaled deeply. The two people in the village who had reasonable cause to be afraid of Itachi were the two people who feared him the least.

"Why are you asking me about this?" Yamato asked curiously.

Sakura exhaled. "The higher ups in the village don't like Itachi," she answered. "They're afraid of him. They think he's dangerous."

"They obviously don't know him very well," Yamato pointed out.

That was true, Sakura thought. Itachi was pretty reclusive. While he was always polite, he never ventured into 'friendly' territory. The person who knew him best was probably Sasuke. And Sasuke was certainly not afraid of him.

"Does it bother you?" Yamato asked. "That they fear him?"

"It bothers me that they don't trust him," she said. "He and his clan were treated very unfairly. It sucks that he's still having to deal with it. I wish everyone would just move on and leave the past in the past."

"What happened?" Yamato asked. "In the past, I mean. That made everyone so afraid of him."

Sakura winced. That was not a story she wanted to tell him. She didn't think Itachi would take too kindly to him knowing about the massacre either.

"Sakura, what are you doing here?"

Yamato and Sakura whirled around to see Kakashi standing behind them, his hand casually stuffed into his pocket, but his posture rigid.

"I took a personal day," she answered, confused by the urgency in his tone. "So I could spend some time with Yamato and Sachi."

"No," Kakashi said. "I mean why aren't you at the hospital?"

She furrowed her brow. "I just told you. I'm taking a personal day."

"You don't know…"

"Know what?" Sakura asked, getting to her feet.

"Sasuke and Itachi are in critical condition," he replied. "I assumed you knew."

"What?" she breathed, sliding her feet into her sandals. "What happened? I have to go see them."

"Tsunade-sama is with them," he assured her. "They'll be okay."

"What happened?"

"I don't know."

Sakura turned back to Yamato, who was watching her with wide, expectant eyes. Sachi was behind him, still obliviously playing her flute.

"I have to go, Yamato," she told him.

"Yeah, of course," he said. "Go. I'll take Sachi home."

She kissed his forehead. "Thank you."

.

"What the hell are you doing here? I thought you were taking a personal day."

"Every time I take a personal day Itachi ends up in the hospital."

Tsunade pursed her lips and gave Sakura a disapproving look. They stood in the hallway outside the in-patient room where Sasuke had been moved. According to one of the nurses, his condition had stabilized and he was no longer critical.

Itachi, however, was still critical and somehow still conscious.

"How can I help?" Sakura asked.

Tsunade rolled her eyes.

"I'm serious," Sakura said.

"You know you can't operate on them," Tsunade said. "But you can, however, take a look at their eyes. Itachi's eyes are pretty messed up again. Once his condition stabilizes you can see him."

"Who's with him now? How is he? How are his lungs? He's still very susceptible to infections, so you need to be careful if there's been any kind of damage done to his lungs or heart."

"Sakura, stop," Tsunade said irritably. "Shizune is with him. He'll be fine. Go see Sasuke to distract yourself. He needs his eyes checked."

Tsunade didn't wait for her reply before she was storming down the hallway, heels clicking against the marble tiles.

With an impatient sigh, Sakura knocked brusquely on Sasuke's door and entered without waiting for his reply. She wasn't really in the mood to be around Sasuke – she was still quite angry with him for being angry with her.

But she was glad to know that he was safe.

"Sasuke," she said when she caught sight of him on the patient table, fiddling with the white paper underneath him. "Glad to see you alive and in one piece."

He said nothing. He didn't even look at her.

"Still mad at me, I see."

She stood in front of him, putting her hands on his chest. She shouldn't have been diagnosing him, but she just wanted to check and see what injuries he may have sustained and if they had been properly treated.

"Will you at least tell me what happened?" she asked. "You weren't on a mission. I know that much."

He glared up at her while she worked. For a moment it seemed like he wouldn't respond, but then he rolled his eyes. "We killed Danzo."

She faltered for a moment, and she was sure he could feel the random pulse in her chakra. "You and Itachi?" she clarified.

He gave her a look that suggested he thought she was an idiot.

"Itachi came and got you?" she demanded. "And then you left together to go kill Danzo?"

He nodded, eyes wide while he watched her put the pieces together. She clenched her fists and pulled them away from Sasuke. Itachi had gone behind her back after he'd ordered her to leave. He went back outside the village to kill Danzo. He hadn't wanted her there.

But he had wanted Sasuke there instead.

"You seem mad."

"I'm not mad," Sakura insisted. "Let me take a look at your eyes. Did something happen to them?"

He shook his head. "My eyes are fine. Itachi's though…"

She sent a cursory surge of chakra into his eyes, just to make sure that they were indeed fine. She didn't even want to think about Itachi's eyes. Or about the fact that he was somewhere in the building in critical condition, possibly dying.

"Are you mad at Itachi?" Sasuke asked. Sakura pressed her lips together in a thin line. "Because I don't think you should be mad at him for going after Danzo."

It was Sakura's turn to roll her eyes. "And I suppose you're an expert on knowing appropriate things to be mad at someone for."

"That's not what this is about, Sakura," Sasuke said. "Why are you mad?"

"I was with him, Sasuke," Sakura said, dropping her hands to her side. "We ran into Danzo together and we ran away. He picked me up and took me back to the village. He made it seem like he was just going to go home. But he came to get you and go after Danzo."

Sasuke scoffed. "So you're mad that he wanted me to fight by his side instead of you? That's ridiculous, Sakura."

"Why is that ridiculous?" she demanded through clenched teeth.

"Sakura, do you know what we discovered while we were fighting him?" he asked. Without waiting for her answer, he continued. "His arm was covered with Sharingan."

Sakura blanched. "Whose?"

"I don't know."

Sakura sucked in a shaky breath. She didn't know what that meant, and she wished Itachi were there to explain it., or at least hazard a guess.

"Don't take what he did personally, Sakura," Sasuke said. "Itachi wanted revenge just as much as I did. It had nothing to do with you. Danzo was our clan's enemy. Not yours."

"He could have been killed," she whispered.

"But he wasn't."

"Why do you care if I'm mad at him?"

"He's my brother," he answered simply. "And I want him to be happy."

Sakura sighed with frustration and hefted herself up onto the table next to Sasuke. He shifted over to accommodate her. She wanted Itachi to be happy, too. Sasuke didn't have a monopoly on that. "Why were you arguing with him the other day?" she asked.

"He forbid me from talking about it with you," Sasuke said, and though it was faint, Sakura caught the smirk that flashed across his features for a moment.

"Well, he's not here now, so why don't you tell me?"

"We were arguing about you," he answered. "He told me about the clan ceremony. He needs a wife. And I know you two are getting along well. I know he really likes you."

"You think I should marry him."

He nodded.

"Everyone is pressuring us," Sakura said. "It isn't that I don't want to marry him at all. I just worry that it's too fast. That we'd be making a mistake."

"Itachi doesn't feel that way."

She blinked at him in surprise. "He doesn't?"

"I mean he doesn't feel like it would be a mistake," he amended. "He isn't interested in anyone else being his wife. Just you. So, by his reasoning, there is no point in waiting to marry you. And I agree."

Sakura had already suspected that he wanted to marry her immediately, but hearing it from Sasuke left her feeling very guilty. So they were really all just waiting for her to come around to the idea.

"Then what were you arguing about?"

"He didn't want to discuss it with you because he was afraid it would scare you off," Sasuke answered. "But I think you two need to talk about it. I think you need to get married as soon as possible."

"So everyone is just waiting for me to be ready to get married," she said dryly.

"Yeah," Sasuke said with a mirthless chuckle. "It's offensive, really. That's you have to think that much about it. Why wouldn't you want to marry him? He'd do anything for you, you know."

"I know—"

A knock at the door interrupted her before she could finish the thought. Shizune popped her head into the room. She looked pretty haggard, dark shadows marring the skin under her eyes and a paleness in the cheeks that wasn't usually there.

With a pang of worry, Sakura realized she must have used a lot of chakra working on Itachi. His injuries must have been severe.

"Sakura, Tsunade-sama wants you to come take a look at Itachi-san's eyes when you get the chance," she said. "He's stable now."

"I'm coming."


	40. Chapter 40

From the comfort of the hospital bed, Itachi was able to fully prepare himself for the impact of Sakura as she crashed her body into his. She was not gentle. In fact, Itachi mused, he had never been hugged quite so angrily before. He felt her chakra invading his system, so similar to Shizune's. He knew she wasn't supposed to be doing that, but he said nothing.

She buried her face in his neck, practically sprawled on top of him. She was breathing quite heavily and seemed more upset than the situation probably called for.

He assumed she would be upset with him. From the first moment he saw Danzo, he had already formulated his plan. Get Sakura out of there. Find Sasuke. Kill Danzo. It was simple. And simply executed. In fact, Itachi felt rather good about the way things had gone. Even the fight itself, in spite of his serious injuries, had gone well. He had even let Sasuke deliver the final blow.

But he could see how such a plan would have upset Sakura.

And, well, he wasn't above groveling. Whatever he had to do to get her forgiveness – he'd do it.

"Sakura?" he asked when it seemed that she didn't want to move. Her weight had settled on him in a way that was both concerning and little enticing. "Sakura, are you okay?"

She pulled her face away from his neck and he saw that her eyes were dry. For some reason he had assumed that she had been crying. Instead he found that her expression was totally unreadable.

She reached out her hand and ran the pad of her thumb over his eyebrow. "I love you," she said. "Did you know that?"

Itachi had thought he was over the heart explosions at this point, and though this one felt different than the previous ones, it wasn't any less intense. He tried to suck in a breath of air, but he couldn't get his lungs to fill up properly. He felt Sakura shift on top of him and she looked concerned.

"I didn't know that," he said with a cracked voice.

"I hope that killing Danzo brought you peace," she said solemnly. "Because I want you to be happy."

Itachi swallowed a lump in his throat because this was really not how he had imagined this situation going. He expected a bit of admonishing, a general relief that he was okay. He had not expected a declaration of love, an expression of her desire for his happiness. It felt oddly dreamlike.

She even looked like a dream. She was wearing a red one-piece swimsuit with her white medic coat over top. It was an interesting outfit choice, to be sure, but Itachi wasn't complaining. Her hair fell down in damp, loose waves that tickled his bare chest. She looked lovely and he wanted to crush himself into her and kiss her over and over again.

"I am happy," he said, and slipped his fingers behind her neck to pull her into a kiss. It was chaste, but tender. "And I love you, too."

She grinned at him, biting her bottom lip. Then she punched him not so gently in the arm. He winced, though she hadn't used any chakra in her punch.

"That's for dragging me back to the village instead of letting me fight with you," she said. Then she leaned forward, the tips of her hair tickling his chest again, and kissed his cheek. "And that's for winning."

"I'm sorry," he said, but he was smiling in spite of his actual sincerity.

She returned to his chest, resting her cheek against his bare skin and settling warmly against him. He tucked her against his body with his arm, holding her against him should she try to get up.

He felt her chakra in his eyes, trailing through him from where her hands were curled up against his chest. It never ceased to amaze him – the magic she could perform with her healing chakra.

His eyes were in pretty bad shape. He had used his Mangekyou, of course. It had been necessary. And this time he had used it for quite a long time. But the soothing flow of Sakura's chakra was helping to relieve some of the pain in them now. He clutched tighter to her.

She asked him to activate his Sharingan, so he did. Then she asked him to activate his Mangekyou. With utter fascination, he realized that she was drawing idle circles on his chest while she worked on his eyes. Looking down at her, he saw that her own eyes were closed.

"If this is how you treat all your patients, I can see why you're so popular here," Itachi said with a smirk.

"Just you," she said, withdrawing her chakra from his body. "You're the only patient I've had to come heal twice now on my days off."

"To be fair," he said. "I thought you were supposed to be working today."

"So you would have waited until tomorrow if you had known I would not be working?" she asked with a knowing grin.

He chortled, but realized that he probably should have made sure she would be around to heal him first. It appeared to violate some sort of code they had at the hospital for her to work on him, but he could always go directly to her.

"No, I would have gone straight to your apartment instead of the hospital," he answered.

"I'm not your personal medic, Itachi-san."

"Yes, you are, hime," he insisted, kissing the top of her head.

She pulled away from him, giving him a stony glare. He grinned back at her, thoroughly amused.

"You interrupted my plans for the day, Itachi," she said, the corners of her mouth quirking up slightly, betraying the sternness in her tone. "So now that you're stable and your eyes have been tended to, I have to go."

She moved to get up, but he held onto her arm. "Don't go."

She smiled at him a little too warmly and then pulled her arm out of his grasp. "I'll see you later, Itachi-kun. Try not to get into any trouble, please. I don't like worrying about you."

He sat up, throwing the thin blankets onto the floor. "Where are you going?" he asked, instantly regretting the pleading, almost whining tone in his voice. She didn't owe him that information, of course. And if she was still mad at him for bringing her back to Konoha, he couldn't blame her for that.

"I've got a hot date," she said.

"With me?"

Sakura laughed, and Itachi felt his cheeks warm because it seemed to be at his expense. "Not you," she said.

"Who, then?" he demanded. "Is that why you're dressed like that?"

"Hey, Itachi-kun, I'm only teasing you," she said reassuringly, though he detected a hint of irritation in her voice. "I was with Yamato and Sachi today. We went to the brook for a swim."

"Oh."

"Yes, oh," she replied with her hands on her hips. "Do I have your permission to leave now?"

"Sakura," he said sharply, taking a step toward her. He didn't miss the way her eyes lingered on his bare chest before they came up to meet his eyes. "Don't be that way. I wasn't trying to upset you. I just wanted to spend some time with you."

"You were jealous."

"You were teasing me," he said flatly. "You like it when I'm jealous."

"I do not."

"You said I'm cute when I'm jealous."

"I have no recollection of that."

He rolled his eyes. "But it's true, isn't it?" he asked. "Didn't I look cute just now when I thought you had a date with some guy?"

She flashed a demure smile. "You always looks cute, Itachi-kun," she replied. "Jealousy has nothing to do with it."

"You like when I'm jealous because you like knowing that I want you," he said. "That I don't want anyone else to have you."

She shrugged nonchalantly, but he knew he spoke the truth.

"I wonder if you would be jealous," he continued. "If I told you I was going on a date with another girl."

"She wouldn't hold a candle to me."

Itachi laughed. "I'm sure she wouldn't."

"Do you want to go on dates with other girls, Itachi?"

There was an unmistakable tone of wistful sadness in the question – one that told Itachi exactly what he needed to know. She _would_ be jealous. Not just jealous, but sad. The revelation didn't reassure him like he thought it would. Instead he just felt guilty for making her sad.

"No," he answered truthfully.

"That's good," she said. "Because I don't want to go on dates with other guys either."

"I kind of figured," he replied with a knowing smirk.

She scoffed. "Did you?"

"Yeah, when you told me you loved me," he said. "I assumed that meant you loved _only_ me."

"That's a bit presumptuous of you, Itachi-kun," she said.

"I've always been good at reading people," he answered.

She rolled her eyes.

"I have to go, Itachi-kun."

"I'll come with you."

"To my parents' house?"

"Anywhere," he answered. "Wherever you're going."

She looked down at her feet and then back up at him skeptically. "Okay," she finally said after a moment of silence. "But if you're going to meet my parents you'll have to put a shirt on."

.

Itachi was pretty close to cloud 9. Remarkably close, in fact. Just shy of it. He had just defeated his greatest enemy with the help of his brother. The woman he wanted to marry had just confessed her love for him. Everything was perfect.

Except the tight ball of nerves roiling in his stomach.

"God, could you loosen up a little?" Sakura asked as they neared the front door of her parents' house. "Why are you so tense?"

"I'm not tense."

He was lying and he knew she knew he was lying. Sakura's parents were civilians and civilians usually did not like Itachi. They knew what he had done and they didn't understand. Hell, it was hard for him to understand it himself – he couldn't blame them for being cautious around him.

But these were Sakura's parents and he wanted them to like him. They were also Yamato and Sachi's adopted parents. He needed to make a good impression on them.

"Just relax," Sakura said as she opened the door.

No sooner than the door had been open did Sachi come bounding into the entryway. She shoved her way past Sakura and jumped onto Itachi who managed to catch her and hoist her up onto his hip.

"Itachi-san!"

He held her close against him, smoothing his hand over her wild curls. He had seen Sachi a handful of times since his return to Konoha, but he hadn't gone far out of his way to see her. It somehow seemed inappropriate to do (though he had training sessions with Yamato pretty frequently). But now he realized how much he had missed her.

"Sachi, don't be rude," he heard a voice say. Peering around Sachi's wild hair he saw who must have been Sakura's mother.

"Mother," Sakura said, greeting the woman with a warm hug.

"Sakura, dear, we didn't know what to think when Yamato and Sachi came back on their own," she said, shaking her head. "What happened?"

"Emergency at the hospital," Sakura explained flippantly. "Everything is fine now."

Itachi didn't know why she had avoided telling her why she had gone to the hospital, but he was a little relieved by it.

"Mother, this is Itachi," Sakura said, steering her mother toward Itachi.

"Itachi, this is my mother, Mebuki," she said to Itachi.

Mebuki took Sachi from Itachi's arms and shook his hand with a warm smile. "Sorry about her," she said to him. "She's usually very shy. I don't know what's gotten into her."

"I'm surprised she remembers me," Itachi said, smiling. "It's been so long since I've seen her."

Something akin to confusion flashed across Mebuki's face and Itachi wondered if maybe he shouldn't have said that. But then she smiled at him.

"Come on, Itachi-san, let me make you some tea," she said, leading them all into the kitchen. "What kind of tea do you like?"

"Whatever kind you have is fine."

"He likes peppermint," Sakura supplied.

Itachi flicked his eyes over to Sakura, who was bounding up the stairs without so much as a glance in his direction. Alone with Sakura's mother and Sachi, Itachi felt a little uncomfortable, but he managed a smile and took a seat at their kitchen table.

"So, Itachi-san," Mebuki said, filling a ceramic cup with boiling water. "What brings you to the civilian district? Just visiting with Sakura?"

Itachi nodded, but he understood the layer beneath her polite questioning. At this point it was no secret that Itachi Uchiha needed a wife. It was also no secret that Itachi Uchiha had a pretty major thing for Sakura.

"I happened to run into her at the hospital," he answered. "She invited me to join her here with Yamato and Sachi."

"Ah, I'm afraid Sakura's father took Yamato out fishing," Mebuki said. "So you'll have to make do with just Sachi."

Hearing her name made Sachi squirm in Mebuki's arms a little. After a moment of struggling to both hold her and make tea, Mebuki set the child down on the floor. "Goodness, Sachi, you are in a mood today, aren't you?"

She ran to where Itachi was seated and pulled herself into his lap. "Read me a book," she said to him quite sternly.

"Sachi," Mebuki admonished. "That's not very polite."

Itachi felt a grin spreading across his face. "If you go fetch one then I will read it to you," he offered.

She jumped out of his lap and took the stairs at an impossibly fast pace for a civilian child. Itachi watched her shove past Sakura as she descended the stairs, earning herself a confused glare.

Sakura had changed from her swimsuit into a large sweatshirt and hopefully some shorts underneath it. He couldn't tell.

"Sakura, put some pants on," Mebuki chided. "We have company."

"I have shorts on, see?" she said, lifting the hem of her sweatshirt to reveal a pair of black spandex shorts. "These are the only clothes I have here. It's better than the swimsuit."

Mebuki gave her a disapproving look but said nothing else.

Sakura looked over at Itachi and gave him a wry smile before joining him at the table. Sitting across from him, she lifted her foot and ran her toes over his calf muscle. Quickly, he jerked his leg away from her. She giggled and bit her lip, but thankfully retracted her leg.

"Where are father and Yamato?" she asked, propping her elbows up on the table and resting her chin on her hands.

"Out fishing," Mebuki answered, setting two cups of tea down on the table in front of them. She took the seat next to Sakura.

"Aw," Sakura said with a frown. "Father won't get to meet Itachi then."

Mebuki pursed her lips together. "Maybe that's a good thing," she said. "Because I think we might have something to talk about."

Inwardly Itachi winced because that could only mean one thing. Her father didn't approve of their potential marriage.

Feigning obliviousness, Sakura raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Are you two getting married?" Mebuki asked bluntly.

Itachi felt his ears burning. In his head, this scenario had gone quite differently. He would have been introduced to her parents as Sakura's lover. They would have been proud to see their daughter marry one of the top ninja in the village.

Instead, he was a criminal known to be in need of a wife within a fairly short time frame. He had to admit it didn't look good from an outside perspective.

"We have no plans to get married as of right now," Sakura answered darkly.

"I don't mean to pry, Sakura," Mebuki began. "But don't you think it's unwise to be in a relationship with someone who needs to get married so soon? It seems like a recipe for disaster. I don't want to see you get hurt."

"What makes you think we're in a relationship?" Sakura demanded.

"Sakura, it's all over the village," Mebuki said. "You know how people like to gossip."

"You can't believe everything you hear," Sakura quipped.

Mother and daughter stared blankly at one another for a moment, neither seeming to be willing to concede on the issue.

"We _are_ in a relationship, Haruno-san," Itachi said, leaping in with both feet. "I don't want to see Sakura hurt any more than you do. I assure you that is not my intention."

Sakura and Mebuki both fixed their eyes on him, making a shiver run down his spine. The heated look in both their eyes looked so bizarre – Itachi could see the resemblance between them.

"What is your intention then, Itachi-san?"

He took a sip of his tea, flinching as the hot liquid burned the tip of his tongue. He set the cup down with a barely audible thump. He glanced at Sakura and saw that she looked very curious about his answer, but he didn't have the fortitude to let his gaze linger on her.

"My intention is to do everything in my power to make her happy," Itachi said to Mebuki. "I will not force her to get married if it's not what she wants. We will do things on her time."

"And what about the pressure on you to get married?" Mebuki asked. Sakura threw her a dirty look. "What will you do about that?"

"There is nothing that can be done about it," Itachi answered regretfully. "But I will not marry someone just to appease the council. And I will not force Sakura to do something she does not want to do."

Mebuki looked effectively mollified, much to Itachi's relief. Sakura, on the other hand, had her brow furrowed and a deeply curious look in her eyes.

Sachi, having chosen her book, bounded back into the kitchen and waved her very pink book in front of Itachi's face. He glanced up at Sakura with a raised brow, a silent question. She merely shrugged in response, but there was something curious about her expression – something that made his heart clench up in his chest.

He looked at Mebuki, hoping she would have the answers that Sakura did not, but she only returned his slightly confused gaze.

"Come on, Sachi," he said after a few seconds of contemplative silence. "I'll read this to you outside."

He scooped her up and excused himself politely so he could carry her into the backyard.

Truthfully, he was grateful for the escape. They probably knew that as well. He had been right to be nervous. Her parents didn't seem all too fond of him – or at least the situation their daughter was in. And he was a little bit on their side, quite frankly. Sakura could do better.

He sat down on the wooden deck, holding Sachi in his lap as he read her book to her. It felt comfortable and familiar, though he had done it only a handful of times before. The images in the books, the words, the way Sachi melted into him and sighed, pointing at pictures she liked – it was like déjà vu.

But there was something different this time, something about Sachi that didn't feel quite the same. She didn't seem to be enamored with him this time. He wondered if she had been scared before, if she understood what had been going on around her. She was so young. It didn't seem like she had aged at all, but it had been nearly a year since they had parted ways in Toyeiki.

Eventually, he felt her breathing become slow and even. He turned the last page and read it anyway before shutting the book and setting it down beside him on the deck. He didn't know how long he sat out there like that with Sachi asleep in his lap. It felt like it had been hours, but it could have only been minutes.

Mebuki and Sakura entered the backyard – he heard the screen door slide open and two distinct sets of footsteps on the deck behind him.

"I'll go put her in the bed," Mebuki whispered to him, holding her arms out to retrieve Sachi. Itachi obliged, gently switching the girl into Mebuki's arms. He felt Sakura sit down next to him on the deck. Once Mebuki had gone back inside and screen door had slid shut again, Sakura sidled her hand underneath his where it lay on the sun-warmed wood.

Sakura had often given him small gestures of affection – a kiss on the cheek, a warm smile. Itachi appreciated them, but he never felt their weight. This was something different. It was minute, but he understood that there was comfort and reassurance in the way she linked their fingers together. And it worried him.

"You talked to your mother?" he asked, squeezing her fingers gently.

"Yes," was all she offered.

He didn't press her for more information. She scooted closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder. He leaned against her, pressing his cheek into her pink hair. They sat in silence for a while, enjoying one another's company, each of them lost in their own thoughts.

"Itachi?"

"Yes, hime?"

She pulled away from him and met his gaze. Her cheeks were pink and she looked amused by the affectionate pet name.

"When was the happiest you've ever been?"

He blinked a couple of times, blindsided by the question. Was that what she had been thinking about? When she had been the happiest she'd ever been?

He didn't even know how to formulate an answer. His life had been one disaster after another, dangerous missions, the massacre, Akatsuki. Had he been happy at any point during that time?

Only before, he supposed. Before the massacre. He had been happy walking through the village with his father, seeing the respect everyone gave him. He had been happy eating the homemade dango his mother made him just because she knew it was his favorite. He had been happy holding his newborn baby brother in his arms, happy taking walks along the river with Shisui.

But when had he been the _happiest_? Did Sakura want that answer to have something to do with her?

"Why do you ask?" he said, watching her expression carefully. She looked a little offended that he would ask her that, but she pressed her lips together and swallowed a lump in her throat.

"You said you would do everything in your power to make me happy," she said. "And it seemed like such an immense thing to say, to feel about me. That you care that much about me."

He nodded because he agreed. It had not been a light statement.

"And I care about you that much, too," she continued, not meeting his eye but staring at the blades of grass beneath her feet. "And I feel very selfish because you seem so interested in keeping me happy, specifically with regards to marriage. But I want you to be happy, too, and it just occurred to me that I have no idea what you want. I want to know what would make you happy, and if I'm capable of doing it."

"I don't know what would make you happy either, hime," he said, using the nickname to soften the harshness of the conversation. "I only know that I don't want to hurt you or rush you into marriage."

She fidgeted a little bit and he could tell that she was nervous for some reason. It made him feel apprehensive, too, so he pulled her hand up to his mouth and kissed the back of her hand in a comforting gesture.

"If you tell me the happiest you've ever been, I'll tell you the happiest I've ever been and we can go from there," she suggested. "We can figure out what to do next."

And then he felt truly nervous, because if there was something that needed figuring out, then there was a problem. Maybe during her conversation with Mebuki she had discussed that she didn't want to be married or have children – that she couldn't give up her career or take time away from all the side projects she was working on.

"Okay," he agreed, trying to calm his nerves about. He could just feel that she was about to break up with him, to tell him that being the next Uchiha matriarch was too much for her and that she needed some space. "You go first."

She gave him a reproachful look. She wanted him to go first, and he supposed that was fair because she had asked him first. But she didn't argue.

"When I was fourteen I saved my first patient," she said. "I had just learned the mystical palm technique from Tsunade and she was so impressed with my quick progress. It felt really good. And then when an injured ANBU squad came in to the hospital, she let me take the reigns. I felt so in my element – everything was so perfect and right. I saved the patient with no hitches and Tsunade was so proud of me. I felt like I had finally figured out life. I knew what I wanted to do, what I was good at and I had so many people supporting me. That was the happiest I'd ever been."

He regarded her with eyes that were almost cold because that story seemed trite, and he didn't really believe her. But he watched the warmth in her features, the light in her eyes as she spoke. Her personal achievements in healing really did mean a lot to her.

He could tell her a very similar story. He was a prodigy, a genius, an Uchiha. His achievements were vast and innumerable.

But they did not make him happy.

"The happiest moment of my life," he began. "Was when I told Sasuke the truth about everything. When he didn't reject me or hate me anymore. I thought I would die by his hand, but what I got instead was more than I had ever hoped for. I remember that feeling, sitting in the grass with him outside Konoha, the way the weight of the world just melted off of me."

Sakura smiled at him, a shy smile that denoted a hint of hesitancy.

"But being with you makes me happy, too, Sakura," he said. "Not in the same way. That was a specific moment where I was so happy and relieved I thought I would burst. It was like fireworks. But with you… You're like the sun. You spread warmth everywhere; you are constant. I think it would be very hard for me to be happy without you."

The look of immense relief on her face almost made him laugh. Had she been worried that he would reject her? She settled her head against his shoulder again and threaded her arm through his.

"You don't have to worry about that, Itachi-kun," she said softly. "I'll do anything to make you happy. No one deserves happiness more than you."


	41. Chapter 41

With each passing day, Sakura grew more worried about the threat Kabuto posed to Konoha. She continued to go through the samples she had collected from the bunker each day and each new bit of information brought the sword of Damocles a little bit closer to Konoha's proverbial neck.

He had created a disease that could be used as a weapon, one that could spread nearly instantaneously through the whole village should they be subjected to it. It was alarming to say the least, which was why Sakura had gone to Tsunade to suggest that a team be formed to track him down and kill him before he could start his biological warfare.

Shikamaru had been brought to the impromptu meeting, because Tsunade trusted his judgment.

"You need a team that can be immunized," he said. "One that has substantial knowledge of medical jutsu, diseases, and poisons that Kabuto might use against them. And also someone strong enough to defeat him."

Tsunade and Sakura nodded in agreement.

"So obviously Sakura should be on the team," he supplied. "She has been dealing with this particular case the longest and is the most knowledgeable. I would say Shizune would also be a good addition."

"Not Shizune," Tsunade said. "I need her here. I can't have both her and Sakura gone at the same time."

"Naruto?" Shikamaru suggested. "He's fought Kabuto before."

"That's not a bad idea," Sakura interjected. "Maybe this should be a Team 7 mission. Sasuke knows quite a bit about Kabuto as well."

"I agree," Tsunade said. "The three of you will go. But we need a lead on where he might be hiding out."

"A separate tracking team might be useful," Shikamaru suggested. "They can track and locate Kabuto and then send for Team 7 once they've found him."

Tsunade hummed in agreement. "I'll send Team 8," she said. "Sakura, inform Naruto and Sasuke. You'll need to be ready to leave at a moment's notice. Shikamaru, fetch Team 8 for me."

"Yes, Tsunade-sama," they said in tandem.

.

"Kabuto again?" Sasuke said with a roll of his eyes.

"This is serious," Sakura said as she popped candy into her mouth. She lounged back against Naruto's couch, stretching her legs out and resting her feet on his coffee table. "Kabuto has weaponized a seriously lethal disease. If it reaches Konoha, we'll all die. There's nothing we can do about it."

Sasuke eyed her up and down, probably reconciling the staid nature of her words with the casual way she was sprawled over Naruto's couch. "Can't you just come up with a vaccine for it?" he asked.

Naruto leaned forward, nodding with agreement. "Yeah, do what you did in Toyeiki," he said, nudging her hip with his elbow.

She glared at Sasuke. "It's not that simple," she said. "It took me months to come up with a vaccine in Toyeiki and I was already immune to that disease. This one is more dangerous. It will be specifically designed to infect shinobi."

"So what now?" Naruto asked. "We just wait until we get the word from Team 8 to move out?"

"That's all we can do," she said. "Except, I want to teach the both of you how to use chakra to burn off an infection. Just in case. Sasuke, you can just copy my technique with your Sharingan. Naruto, I'll have to teach it to you the old fashioned way."

Sasuke leaned back against the frame of his chair, looking rather bored. But a second later Sakura noticed his eyes had bled red and were watching her and Naruto with a detached sort of focus.

"Alright, Naruto," she said. "I don't have an infection to pass to you, so I'm just going to show you what to do with your chakra."

Sakura stayed at Naruto's apartment for several hours showing Naruto how to use chakra to burn infections. He wasn't precise enough with his chakra control, so unfortunately for the both of them, the lesson took a lot more time that she hoped it would.

But fortunately, Sasuke seemed to have gotten over his irritability and started to incessantly rib Naruto for his lack of skill. Sakura didn't feel that his ribbing was entirely necessary, especially since Sasuke would likely have had trouble learning the technique if he hadn't been able to use Sharingan.

However, Naruto was a good sport about it – a far cry from the boy he used to be, the one who responded quite angrily to taunts from his brooding teammate. In fact, Sakura noticed that Naruto seemed to be enjoying the teasing.

And soon enough she was laughing along with them.

After the treacherous lesson had ended (with the promise that there would soon be another one), Naruto made dinner for the three of them and they ate and laughed together and Sakura felt an intense swelling in her heart.

Sasuke seemed to be over his anger toward her, though she was careful not to bring up Suigetsu or Juugo. It was nice to just hang out with her teammates with nothing else in the way.

After helping clean up the mess, Sakura decided to head out and she hugged Naruto and even Sasuke, who allowed but did not return her hug.

She wondered, as the door clicked shut behind her, if Sasuke slept at Naruto's often. He was almost always there and she knew he had to have spent a least a few nights there before.

It was getting late and she should be heading to bed soon.

But she realized that if Sasuke slept at Naruto's apartment, then Itachi was alone at the Uchiha compound…

It was an impulsive decision, but she found herself walking toward Itachi's house. It was probably rude to show up so late in the evening with no warning, but she didn't think Itachi would mind and it had been several days since she had seen him.

Meeting her mother had not gone quite as smoothly for Itachi as Sakura would have liked. She made it clear to her mother that she and Itachi would do what they wanted and that it didn't really matter what her opinion on the situation was. But even as she said it, she knew it was only a bluff. Sakura valued her mother's opinion and wanted her to like Itachi.

Liking him wasn't really the problem, though. Who wouldn't like Itachi? The problem (the really annoying, omnipresent problem) was the marriage deadline. Mebuki and Kizashi were not fond of the idea that their little girl was basically being forced into a marriage and refused to see it as anything other than a manipulative move on Itachi's part.

Crestfallen and disappointed, Itachi had walked home alone that day after meeting her mother and Sakura had not seen him since.

So when Sakura knocked on his door she was hoping that he would be in a better mood than he had been that day.

She heard an awkward shuffling on the other side of the door and she was both bemused and flustered when he opened the door wearing nothing but pair of what looked like Sasuke's old shorts. She caught herself staring at him, his naked torso and the sweat that clung there mesmerizing her. He had a freckle on his ribcage that she had never noticed before and she found herself wanting to reach out and touch it.

"Sakura," he said, breaking her out of her trance. "It's late. What are you doing here?"

A little too late, Sakura realized that he might have had company. She shouldn't have just come over to his home unannounced – it was rude.

And then the thought of Itachi having late-night, sweaty, half-naked company made the tips of Sakura's ears burn and she felt a sick, cloying jealousy take hold of her throat.

"I'm sorry," she croaked, taking a step back away from the door. "I honestly don't know why I came here."

He looked faintly amused as he grabbed her wrist and pulled her over the threshold. "Come inside," he said sternly, "Don't just stand there."

She allowed him to pull her inside, and then distantly noticed that his arms and shoulders were slightly pink from a sunburn.

"You look upset," he noted.

"You look sunburnt."

"Yeah," he said, eyeing her with suspicion. She could see that he didn't like that she had ignored his unasked question, but she certainly wasn't going to tell him that she was jealous of the mystery woman who had taken off his clothes and made him all sweaty. "I was training all day in the sun. I was just about to take a cold shower."

Oh.

"Are you upset?" he asked.

"No."

He gave her a look like he didn't believe her. "Alright," he said deliberately slow. "I'm going to take a shower. Do you want me to make you some tea?"

She shook her head. She felt a bit foolish for having been jealous in the first place, and also for showing up at his house without telling him. His generosity made her feel guilty and his near nudity made her feel… well, other things.

"Are you hungry?" he asked. "I can make you something to eat."

"I'm not hungry."

He pressed his lips together in a thin line, clearly annoyed and unsure of what to do. He wouldn't kick her out, Sakura knew. And he didn't want to leave her out here with nothing to do while he took a shower.

"I'll just be on my way, then," she said in her best attempt to extricate herself from the horrible situation she'd put them both in.

"Sakura," he said, stopping her in her tracks. Her hand hovered over the doorknob. "Why did you come here?"

She turned back around to face him and was surprised to find that he had moved closer to her. He stood close enough that she could reach out and touch the freckle if she wanted to. And she kind of did.

Tentatively, she reached out her hand and pressed the tip of her finger into his skin where the freckle was. She watched the muscles in his stomach contract before she pulled her hand away. She chanced a look up at his face, feeling rather foolish still. He looked amused.

"I don't know," she answered honestly. "My feet just took me here."

He chewed his lower lip pensively, and though Sakura had never considered that such an action could be erotic, she felt a flash of heat ignite in her gut. She wanted to bite his lip like that, or maybe let him bite hers…

"Do you want to stay the night?" he asked, and to Sakura's great amusement he looked nervous.

Sakura nodded with a little more enthusiasm than was probably necessary.

"Okay," he said with a shy smile that made the heat in her gut spread. "Let me take a quick shower. Make yourself at home."

Before he could walk away from her, Sakura put her hands on his waist (a safe, unburned location) and pressed a kiss to his lips. He responded immediately, holding her against him and threading his fingers into her hair.

She had expected and intended for the kiss to be chaste. She didn't want to get him riled up and then send him off the shower alone. She took the opportunity, though, to heal his sunburn so that his shower wouldn't have to be cold.

"I'm sorry for inviting myself over," she said to him once they had broken apart.

He glanced down at his arms and then his shoulder, inspecting his newly healed skin. "I'm always happy to see you, Sakura," he said.

His words warmed her a little and she felt herself blushing. Gently, she pushed him away from her. "Go take your shower," she said. "I'll just be snooping through all your stuff."

He eyed her warily, but he was smirking.

Once he had safely disappeared into the bathroom and she could hear the water running, Sakura, true to her word, slipped into his bedroom. She didn't actually intend to snoop through his things, but if she was going to spend the night here she would need something to change into. And she knew he had a penchant for her wearing Uchiha colors.

She shuffled through his wardrobe, looking for something that would be suitable to sleep in, but also a little sexy.

Which was pretty difficult because what looked sexy on Itachi looked like a garbage sack on her. Most of his clothes were standard issue shinobi pants and mesh shirts. Nothing that screamed sexy.

But while she could still hear the water running, Sakura tried on a lot of his clothes, giving herself a fashion show. She made a mental note to buy him some clothes that weren't black or navy, because wow his wardrobe was depressing.

Eventually, she settled on one of the shirts she had given him so long ago when he had first come back to Konoha.

It was hard to believe that it had been nearly a year since he had come back. He was such an integral part of her life now – she couldn't imagine him not being around. She had been so afraid of him that day she had seen him with two children outside Toyeiki. So many horrific things had gone through her mind. Her life had flashed before her eyes because surely he would kill her.

And yet here she was now wearing his clothes and sleeping in his bed. Here she was abandoning her love for Sasuke for that last person she ever expected to.

"I really thought you were joking when you said you were going to snoop through my things."

Sakura whirled around, caught by surprise. She hadn't even noticed the water shut off. What a lousy ninja she was…

"I wasn't snooping," she said defensively. "I was looking for something to wear."

His eyes roved over her appreciatively and she returned the gesture, noticing that he was wearing only a towel and his hair hung damp and loose down his back. She let out an impressed whistle and gave him a lecherous grin.

"I see you found something suitable," he said, either oblivious or willfully ignorant of her blatant appreciation for his near nakedness.

"I see you did, too."

"It appears that someone has strewn all my clothes about," he said. "Otherwise I would be properly dressed."

Feeling bold, she took a step toward him and lifted her hand to his face. She could see beads of moisture against his eyebrow so she ran the pad of her thumb over it gently. "I'm sorry, Itachi-kun. I'll clean it up."

He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her forehead and then bent down to pick up a pair of pants from the floor. "You can clean it up tomorrow," he said. "I'm tired. We should go to bed."

Sakura blinked. At some point in her growing up, the knowledge that men craved sex had been ingrained into her brain. Men not only wanted sex a lot, but they wanted it more than women did.

But Sakura very clearly wanted sex more than Itachi did, and she didn't know whether that meant that something was wrong with her or something was wrong with him.

Itachi circumvented her and pulled the covers away from his bed. She turned to look at him to see if he would change in front of her. She had already seen him naked, of course, but Itachi seemed like the type to prefer to change in privacy. He surprised her when he lifted her up off the ground and tossed her onto the bed unceremoniously.

"Stay here," he said. "I'll be right back."

A little chuffed about being tossed around like a doll, Sakura scoffed. She had been right about him, but she felt no pleasure in it.

"Wait," she commanded. "Come here first."

He approached her and she could tell he was expecting a kiss. But when he came close enough, Sakura yanked his towel away from him. Itachi was a ninja, though, and he caught her wrist as she was pulling away. She let go of the towel and it landed on her legs. She could feel its dampness on her and the urge to look at what it had just been covering was strong, but she looked up at his face instead.

His eyes were blood red and the tomoe were spinning and for the first time in a very long time, Sakura felt truly afraid of him. She didn't look away, though, because she knew that he wouldn't hurt her. He was still gripping her wrist tightly and she could see that his jaw was clenched.

"I'm sorry," she said in a low whisper. "I just—"

He cut her off with a searing kiss. She gasped into his mouth and moved her free hand to his neck, but he caught it with his other hand and pushed her down to the bed, pinning her hands to the mattress beside her head.

Immediately Sakura felt a whoosh of heat spread in her chest and pleasant tingling sensation along her scalp. She arched her back, pushing her hips up into the air. Itachi stood next the bed, but as soon as her hips were raised he straddled her, using the weight of his body to keep her still.

She writhed under him and tried to buck her hips again, but he remained still. He broke their kiss and pulled away from her.

"Why did you do that?" he asked.

"I didn't want you to get dressed."

He looked at her unblinkingly for a moment and she would have given anything to know what he was thinking just then.

She took the opportunity to study his Sharingan more deeply. The tomoe were still spinning and she wondered if that meant he was using some kind of jutsu on her. She felt normal, but if she were under a genjutsu she would never know. She could still feel his legs on either side of her and remembering that he was naked, she glanced down at him and noticed that he was hard.

With as much time as they spent together, Sakura felt like she understood Itachi and his reactions to things pretty well. He would be embarrassed, maybe even upset. She had yanked his towel off him and given him a boner, so she couldn't really blame him.

But when she looked up at his face, he was expressionless still, tomoe spinning. Still pinning her hands down, he tightened his thighs around her hips and leaned down again, kissing her roughly and demandingly.

Itachi was the only person who had ever kissed her before, and he had never kissed her like this. It was not gentle or tender in any way. Feeling a fresh wave of arousal tighten in her core, Sakura bucked into him again, desperate for even the tiniest bit of contact to relieve some of that intense pressure.

She felt him flinch and she thought she must have hurt him, but he continued to kiss her. She could hardly keep up with him. But god, it felt so good. She could feel her pulse skyrocketing and her skin felt tingly and electric. She bucked again, more frantically this time.

He released one of her arms so he could grab her hip and force it back down to the bed. She groaned and reached forward with her now free hand and grabbed his hair at the nape of his neck so she could pull him back down into a kiss. He resisted her with a shake of his head and squeezed his fingers against her hipbone.

"Just be still," he said lowly.

Instantly she went limp, releasing his hair and letting her arm fall down beside her head again. He hovered over her, watching her with red eyes. She was panting and she felt ridiculous about it while Itachi looked calm and collected as ever. His lips were slightly swollen and his skin was flushed. A drop of water clung precariously at the tip of his bangs until it finally detached itself and splashed onto Sakura's cheek. She flinched and reached her hand up to brush it away, but Itachi caught her wrist and pressed it firmly back down to the mattress.

Sakura had a sudden odd feeling, a strange anxiety that clawed at her throat. Itachi had never acted this way before.

"Am I in a genjutsu?"

His eyes stopped spinning and she watched them bleed back into coal. He swallowed hard and let go of her wrists, sitting back on his heels.

"Of course not," he said, his eyes bright with concern and a little irritation. "Did you think you were?"

She sat up a little, leaning against her elbows. "Your tomoe were spinning," she explained defensively because he seemed a bit offended. "I didn't know."

"They were?"

She nodded.

"I wouldn't have been upset, you know," she said. "If I was in a genjutsu. I wouldn't have been mad at you."

"I promised you I wouldn't do that without your permission," he said.

"You have my permission."

His gaze softened. He bit his lip again with apprehension and raked his hair back away from his face. He looked so boyishly charming that she wanted to sit up and kiss him, but she stayed still.

He let out a deep sigh. "I apologize for scaring you," he said.

"I wasn't scared," she lied.

He gave her a stern look. "I could see that you were," he said, tapping his temple.

"Well, you were definitely a bit more… aggressive than you usually are," she said cautiously. "But it was pretty hot."

The corners of his mouth quirked up slightly, not quite a smile but better than the nervous expression he'd worn before. Encouraged, she pulled herself up and kissed his mouth chastely.

"You're really hot," she said, watching his face carefully to see his reaction. "I bet women throw themselves at you all the time."

She didn't know if that was true or not, but Sasuke had his own fan club, so she assumed Itachi would, too. Predictably, Itachi's cheeks flushed. He was eyeing her with bemused curiosity, and again she wished she knew what he was thinking.

"But I'm the only one who gets to do this," she continued, leaning forward again to press a slightly less chaste kiss to his lips again.

When she pulled away she noticed his eyes were closed and he quickly grabbed her hair at the back of her head and pulled her back into a kiss before she could lie back down. He released her hair and slid his palm down to her back, pressing her closer to him. She could feel his other hand fiddling with the hem of her shirt (his shirt), so she pulled away from him again and grabbed the collar of his shirt at the back of her neck, intending to yank it over her head the way he had the night of the clan meeting.

But it was caught on something (her head, probably), resulting in the shirt being wrapped snugly around her face. In a more normal attempt at removing the shirt, she wormed her hands up through the bottom hole and tugged it off her with an irritated huff.

Itachi was laughing at her and his eyes had reverted back to their Sharingan, presumably to record her humiliation forever. She could feel her hair sticking out in all directions so she smoothed it down with her palms, hoping the action would hide the hot blush developing in her cheeks.

"It's an unfamiliar shirt," she said as if that explained why she, a shinobi – a jonin at that, had gotten her head stuck in a shirt.

"Yes, we all know how tricky unfamiliar shirts can be."

Finally confident enough to meet his gaze again, she sent a glare at him, but it melted immediately when she saw the boyish grin on his face. He looked so young, so happy. Sakura couldn't recall ever seeing him look so content. If she had known that all she had to do to make him that way was get her head stuck in something, she'd have done it a long time ago.

"Don't mock me," she said sassily, though she knew he was only teasing her.

"I'd never mock you, hime," he said reverently.

"Sure," she said sarcastically, poking his chest with her finger. She watched his eyes dip down to her chest and linger there for a second before he met her eyes again. "You just happened to activate your Sharingan so you can replay my shame over and over again in your head."

He caught her hand and held it, grinning at her with ridiculously sexy charm. "No, I activated my Sharingan because there's a pretty girl naked in my bed."

"I'm a woman, thank you very much."

He leaned forward and buried his face in her neck, not kissing her but letting his lips brush across that particularly sensitive swath of skin. He hummed against her throat, letting his fingers trail down her arms and come to a stop at her hips. "Yes, you are," he agreed. "A very pretty one."

She tilted her head to give him better access. He trailed the tip of his nose over her skin, his breath ghosting across her neck and giving her goose bumps.

"I'm glad you came over, Sakura," he murmured into the shell of her ear. "Even if you did come over uninvited and mess up my room and take my towel."

She smacked him playfully on the arm and then shut her eyes and whimpered when she felt his lips press firmly at the junction of her neck and jaw. "I'll clean up your room, Itachi-kun," she breathed.

"Oh?" he asked, pulling away from her. "What about my towel, hmm? Are you going to put it back on me?"

"You'd be hard-pressed to find me trying to cover you up, Itachi-kun," she said. "You should be naked all the time."

"I'll consider it."

She giggled and they sank down into his sheets together.


	42. Chapter 42

Itachi woke up with something very soft and warm pressed against his cheek. He blinked a couple of times before he noticed that it was Sakura's breast. His instinct was to extricate himself from her grasp, but he forced himself to remain still. Her breathing was slow and even. He could see from the window that it was still dark outside, though it had to have been close to dawn.

She had his head cradled against her chest, her arms wrapped around him tightly. He couldn't have moved without waking her up anyway. And, well, this wasn't the worst way to wake up. In fact, it was probably the most pleasant way Itachi had ever woken up before.

Itachi had never been the kind of man to live in the moment. He was always planning ahead. He didn't focus too much on his own pleasure or wanting more than what he had. But he would have given anything to fast-forward into the future – a future where he and Sakura were married and he could wake up wrapped in her arms like this every day.

Meeting her mother had not gone as smoothly as he had hoped, and he couldn't really blame her. Mebuki was worried about her daughter, afraid she was being manipulated into a marriage she didn't want. Itachi had started to feel that way himself. It was obvious that Sakura was a little freaked out by the idea of marriage, and unfortunately for Itachi, a marriage to him was kind of a big deal.

He was caught between a rock and hard place. He had already confessed both to himself and to Sakura that he loved her. He would do anything for her. He certainly wouldn't push her toward marriage and run the risk of scaring her off.

But what would he do when his year ran up and she still wasn't ready to marry him? The seat on the council aside, Itachi still had a duty to restore his clan. He owed that to Sasuke.

Sakura stirred next to him, mumbling something incoherent and shifting her leg down from its position hiked over his waist.

Would he give up his duty to his clan for her? Would she expect him to?

He didn't think she would do that to him, but he didn't know for sure. Sakura was headstrong and she knew what she wanted. And if she decided that she didn't want him, what would he do? Who would he marry? A stranger?

She stirred again, groaning loud enough that he could feel the vibrations in her chest against his cheek. She stretched out and Itachi felt more than he heard the pops in her spine.

"Good morning, Itachi-kun," she said and even though he couldn't see her face he could tell she was smiling.

"Good morning," he mumbled into her breast.

"I think that was the most restful night of sleep I've ever had," she said, combing her fingers through his hair. He closed his eyes, relishing in the feel of her fingers against his scalp. He never imagined such a simple gesture would feel so nice. "So this is what it will be like when we're married, huh?"

Itachi's heart constricted almost painfully in his chest. It had always been a matter of _if_ they got married, not _when_. If she had accepted that they would definitely be married one day, did she feel trapped? Would she marry him because that was what she _should_ do or because it was what she _wanted_ to do?

"Sakura."

She kissed the top of his head before resuming her finger combing. "Itachi."

"You don't feel obligated to marry me, do you?"

This was too serious of a conversation to be having with his face pressed into a deliciously supple part of her anatomy, so he pulled himself away to look at her face. To his surprise, she laughed.

"Obligated?" she giggled. "I should be so lucky. Besides, if I don't marry you then someone else will and I'm sure as hell not going to let that happen. Like it or not, you're stuck with me, Itachi-kun."

"I'm serious, Sakura."

Angry hands shoved him down against his pillow and Sakura flung her leg over his torso, straddling him. "So am I," she said, her eyes bright with determination. "This is unfamiliar territory for both of us, so I completely understand why you would think that. But I'll put you at ease right now: I'm not going to string you along and then bail."

He didn't know how to respond to that, but it didn't feel as much like relief as he thought it should.

"You would be totally screwed," she continued. "If I waited the full year and then left you. You'd have to marry someone else, or not marry anyone at all and give up your council seat. It would push back the restoration of your clan. And you'd probably be devastated over losing me, which would make finding a new potential spouse even harder."

Itachi narrowed his eyes at her, contemplating whether or not to activate his Sharingan and scare her.

"But you don't have to worry about any of that stuff," she said, smiling like an idiot. "Because I love you and I'd be happy to be your wife."

He drank in the sight of her – her goofy grin and sleep mussed hair. Her eyes were slightly puffy but she was glowing nonetheless.

"You would?"

"Duh," she said, sliding off his lap and onto the floor. She bent over and picked up the shirt that had been wrapped around her face the night before and pulled it over her head. "Now come make me breakfast."

.

Itachi had a hard time with cooking breakfast. Itachi liked to cook and he was good at it, but Sakura made it very difficult. Sakura (whose cooking was mediocre at best) was _insanely_ hungry, as she'd put it. He'd already burned one batch of eggs while he'd been distracted as she stood behind him, pressing teasing kisses to his bare back.

To assuage her grumbling stomach until he could finish, he had cut honeydew into small chucks for her. She sat on the counter next to the stove, munching happily on the melon while she watched Itachi push her eggs around the pan with a spatula.

"If you eat too much of that you won't be hungry anymore by the time I finish," he complained.

"Don't worry, Itachi-kun," she said. "I'll have plenty of room left."

He watched her pop another chunk into her mouth and lick her lips. He reached for the bowl and picked up a chunk of his own, but Sakura's hand around his wrist stopped him before he could put it in his mouth.

"That's mine," she said, and brought his hand to her mouth. She took the honeydew with her teeth, her lips grazing against his fingers. He shuddered and pulled his hand away, returning to the eggs before he burned them again.

But when his stomach growled, spurred by the delicious smell of the eggs, he reached for another chunk of melon. Sakura jerked the bowl away from him. "No way," she said. "This is mine."

He narrowed his eyes at her because it was most definitely not hers. He had paid for it. He had cut it up for her. The least she could do was share. But she only seemed amused by his exasperation and she giggled.

"Can I have some?" he asked, deciding to play nice.

She tapped a finger against her lips, pretending to consider his request. "Say the magic word."

"Please?"

"Okay," she conceded, picking up a piece of honeydew and holding it up to his lips. "Only because you asked so nicely."

He took the melon in his mouth, along with her finger, which he bit (gently, because he didn't want to hurt her). She shrieked and pulled her hand away, but when she inspected her finger more closely she only giggled in response.

"You're a real piece of work, hime," he said, scooping the finished eggs out onto a plate. "You know that?"

"Oh, really?" she said, still tittering and munching on her fruit.

When the eggs were no longer in danger of being burned, Itachi felt it was time to give her the appropriate payback.

"Yes, really," he said. "In fact, I don't think I made enough eggs for you. Maybe you should make your own while I eat these," he said, gesturing to the plated eggs. He took the eggs and sat down at the table. He took a bite and tried not to turn and face her while he chewed. He was sure she'd stomp over to him and demand her eggs, but he could hear no movement from her.

After a stressfully quiet moment, he heard Sakura approach softly and take the seat to his right. "Itachi-kun," she said sweetly. He turned to look at her. She had brought her bowl of honeydew. "Thank you for breakfast."

He eyed her while she tucked into her fruit again, appearing to have no desire for the eggs he'd cooked at her request. Feeling a little annoyed, he took another bite of egg and sulked.

Sakura giggled and scooted so she could lean against his shoulder.

"You're too easy to tease, Itachi-kun."

He grunted in response.

"Itachi-kun?"

He grunted again.

"Once we're married, can we get a dog?"

His eyebrows shot up in surprise. It was strange to hear her speak so frankly about marriage after he'd witnessed firsthand how much the idea freaked her out. Maybe she was starting to look forward to it, he thought. Maybe the idea didn't scare her so much anymore.

"I hate dogs," he answered. "How about a cat?"

"Yes!" she exclaimed, unbothered by his hate for dogs. "And we can name it Sasuke!"

Itachi chuckled and shook his head. He watched her take another bite of honeydew and he couldn't help the smile that seemed glued to his face.

"Hey, Itachi-kun?"

"Yes?"

"Do you want to spar with me?"

"Spar? With you?"

"Yeah, I've got a few new tricks I want to test out," she said. "Do you want to?"

"Can I use my Sharingan this time?"

She paused, considering her answer. "Yes, but only if you promise not to use it to figure out my sexual fantasies."

"Hmm, no deal," he answered, a smirk tugging at his lips. "That's the only thing I was interested in using it for."

She bursted with laughter, and if he hadn't been a shinobi it might have scared him a little. "I can just tell you if you really want to know, Itachi-kun."

He had a sudden suspicion that he _didn't_ want to know. Though they had come close last night, they had only had sex the one time, and while Itachi was certainly looking forward to doing it again he was also a little apprehensive. Sakura had done most of the work last time. He wanted to be the one to take charge the next time they did it, but what if that wasn't what she wanted?

But curiosity got the better of him. "Tell me."

She took his hand in hers and pulled him out of his chair, dragging him to the front door. "Maybe after our spar, Itachi-kun," she said, giving him an eye-crinkling smile.

.

Itachi didn't really want to spar with Sakura, but he couldn't tell her that. It wasn't that he didn't think she was a worthy opponent. Truthfully, he was excited to see what new tricks she had up her sleeve.

But at the moment, Itachi had only one thing on the brain, and that was the way she looked wearing his clothes. Because she had slept over she hadn't brought any of her gear and Itachi had been gracious enough to allow her to wear his shirt. She had opted to wear yesterday's black spandex shorts and something about seeing her with the Uchiha crest on her back and sporting dark colors really got him going.

He didn't have a spare weapons pouch, but that seemed to suit Sakura just fine as her strength was, well, her strength. She sprinted around the private training field, punching the ground hard enough to send debris flying all around them. She knocked over trees, propelled herself into the air, and giggled the whole time. She wasn't attacking him, so he watched her show off with mild amusement before he preemptively halted her next ground strike with a kick to her stomach.

"That's enough, show-off," he said with an amused glare. "You're ruining my training grounds."

"Sorry," she said with a cheeky grin. "I'm just warming up."

He grunted. He launched a couple of shuriken at her and watched her dodge one and block the other with her bare wrist. He saw no blood on her skin, so he assumed she had used chakra to buffer the impact.

And then he waited. He was curious to see what she would do and he had no desire to fight her.

She seemed to realize this and had an almost lackadaisical approach to fighting him. She was smiling as she kicked up a huge chunk of the earth and kicked it toward him. He dodged it, but let it get close enough that he could feel the whoosh of it as it flew past him.

Sakura was not a long-range fighter, and though she was fairly skilled as escaping genjutsu, she would have a hard time getting out of _his_. And because he specialized in shuriken jutsu, she was not well matched with him.

Even with this knowledge, Itachi did not discredit her as an opponent. He knew that she had taken down Sasori. It would do him no good to underestimate her. But as far as he was concerned, this spar was for exploratory purposes only. He didn't care to win.

So he moved into her range. He lacked the chakra control that she had, so when she started to throw punches, he dodged them instead of blocking them. A caught fist would mean a broken hand. He watched with amusement as she threw blow after blow, a gleeful look on her face. She was having fun.

"Hit me back, Itachi-kun," she said, her smile never breaking.

He knew it was a trap, but he did it anyway. He swiftly brought his leg up to kick her in the chest, but as he predicted, she caught his ankle. Sakura had a natural athleticism and she wouldn't have needed chakra to hold his leg up in the air the way she was, but nonetheless, Itachi felt a spurt of chakra flow into his leg.

And then his leg was dead weight and uncontrollable. She let it fall to the ground with a shrill burst of laughter. His leg felt like pins and needles and because he could not control it (his muscles seemed to have stopped working entirely), he was forced to balance on one leg.

It was an interesting technique that could certainly buy her time in a sticky situation. He wondered how much of her chakra it used up. He wondered if she was limited to affecting only the parts of his body she touched. Could she stop his heart the same way? Could she render his entire body immobile?

He activated his Sharingan to watch her more closely. She jumped back away from him and retreated into the tree line. With his leg still useless, he couldn't do much to go after her, so instead he watched and waited.

He could see her perched on a tree branch and she smiled and winked at him in a way that he would have found infuriating if she had been anyone else.

He launched a fireball at her if only to remove her from the trees. The feeling began to return to his leg. He wondered if she had performed a weakened version of the jutsu or if she could permanently disable limbs if she so chose.

She jumped down to the grass and set her gaze on him, watching as he experimentally moved his leg. She did not seem surprised, so it must have been intentional.

Before he could regain full control of his leg, Sakura was attacking again. Her taijutsu was easily her best strength and even though Itachi could keep up with her, he found himself running out of breath. She was relentless with her attacks, kicks and punches flurrying around her. He dodged each one, catching it with his Sharingan with more than enough time to evade them.

But his leg was slowing him down. Eventually, he was able to move it properly again and with renewed confidence, he threw himself into their taijutsu dance. She seemed greatly amused by this and began to quicken her pace. He narrowed his eyes at her, slightly wounded that she would think she needed to go easy on him in any way.

With a little more aggression than was necessary, Itachi threw a particularly nasty punch at her face, which she caught with the palm of her hand. He had expected her to block it with her wrist as she had done with all the previous attacks, but when his knuckles connected with her palm he realized his mistake.

Instantly, his arm was useless.

"You should have known better, Itachi-kun," she said cheerily.

He pursed his lips. "Why can I not see when you're performing that jutsu?" he asked, his Sharingan wavering in the sunlight. "Are you not using chakra?"

She laughed, tossing her head back. His eyes narrowed further, un-amused. "You're just not looking hard enough, Itachi-kun."

He lunged at her, using his good arm to grab her neck and hold her, not tightly but firmly enough that she'd be hard pressed to get away. She grunted and aimed to sweep her legs underneath his, but he forced his knee between her legs and knocked her to the ground, hovering over her body and pressing down slightly on her neck.

He saw the breath leave her lungs with a whoosh when she hit the ground, but he didn't relent. Straddling one of her legs, he bore his eyes into her, letting the tomoe of his Sharingan spin. He was instantly annoyed when he saw the fear flash across her face. He thought they were past that by now, but to her credit she did not look away from him.

"Are you holding back?" he asked her. "Can you do worse things with that jutsu?"

"I can stop your heart if I'm touching you for long enough," she answered, confirming his suspicions. "It's easier if I touch your chest, but I can do it touching anywhere on your body."

"Let me see."

She let out an awful choking sound so he eased up on her throat a little bit but kept her pinned beneath him. "I'm not going to stop your heart, Itachi," she said. "It's too dangerous."

He grunted in response because he was sure she could restart it again, but he let it go.

However dangerous stopping his heart was, she seemed to have no trouble with external injuries because she shoved her open hand into his chest, much like she might have if she were healing an injury and extended five chakra scalpels into his pectoral muscle. He winced and leapt away from her, launching a barrage of shuriken in the process.

She was on her feet in seconds, dodging as best she could, but several shuriken hit her anyway. She lessened their impact with chakra and within seconds, the wounds were gone. She looked up at him with a trace of something unreadable in her eyes and it annoyed Itachi that there was something about her that he just couldn't place.

She raced toward him, attempting to put herself back in attack range, but he launched another fireball at her to keep her at bay. He winced against the pain that erupted in his chest as he inhaled – the scalpel wounds were deeper than he'd thought.

And then, through the smoke, he saw the glint of a senbon – a chakra senbon. So she had completed her technique. He dodged it easily, but applauded her effort. The smoke screen created by his fireball would have been the perfect cover if he had been anyone other than an Uchiha.

But then he felt a sharpness in the back of his calf. He looked down to find a chakra senbon embedded in his calf muscle. He watched it dissipate with confusion. She had been in front of him the whole time. He would have seen if she had created a shadow clone. How could she have thrown a senbon like that?

And then he felt her chakra, healing chakra. It was just like any other time she healed him, except he could distinctly feel the chakra flowing in from the point in his calf. The wounds on his chest began to disappear, fading away like they'd never been there in the first place.

He flicked his gaze to Sakura who was watching him with an infuriating smirk on her face.

But he couldn't blame her.

"How did you hit me from behind?" he asked.

"I threw two senbon," she said. "One to distract you and another with a chakra thread attached. While you dodged the first one, I used the thread to redirect the second one after it had gone past you."

"I didn't see the second one," he said skeptically.

"I threw it low. Senbon aren't dangerous unless they hit a vital point or are poisoned," she explained. "Even if you saw it, you probably wouldn't have dodged it. I wouldn't have been able to hit any of your vitals with it."

Itachi absently ran his hand over his chest where the wounds had been. He _would_ have dodged it if he had seen it, but he hadn't and that really annoyed him. She wasn't supposed to be able to do things that he couldn't see. He should be able to see everything. That's what his bloodline limit was designed for.

"And you remotely healed me with it," he asserted.

"Yes," she said beaming with pride. "After I successfully completed the chakra senbon, I tried to figure out some more practical uses for it. I remember you suggesting poison and infection. I might go with both of those later on, but I figured this would be better suited for my role in combat. I can remain on the sidelines and out of danger while still assessing and doing some basic healing."

He drank in the sight of her in that moment. She probably had no idea how amazing she looked. The morning sun gilded her hair – a striking contrast against her dark clothing. Her stance was assertive and strong, her hip cocked to the side and an impossible brightness in her eyes. From this distance he could barely make out the pinkness of her lashes. She stared at him with unwavering confidence and it looked so good on her. She was capable and strong and he had a surge of affection for her that nearly took the breath from his lungs.

But Itachi was an opportunist and he couldn't let her get away with what she had done. He took advantage of her locked gaze, and with the surety that she had consented to it, he pulled her into a genjutsu.

Itachi had cast many genjutsu in all his years – nearly all of them had been designed to be painful or manipulative in some way. He had used genjutsu to lie to Sasuke and also to tell him the truth. He had used it on Yamato and Sachi to show them a beach – something calm and tranquil when everything around them was a constant swirl of terror.

But what could he show Sakura? He considered what would make Sakura happy. She had told him the happiest she had ever been – healing that damn patient for Tsunade. He didn't buy that for a second. But then what _did_ make her the happiest? She seemed pretty happy now. She had seemed happy to boss him around in his own kitchen and stretch out in his bed like it was her own.

But it would be hers too soon, he supposed. And was that what could make her happy? Was it him? He could show her what their marriage could be like. He could show her a houseful of Uchiha children – ones with her perfect chakra control and his bloodline limit. But would that freak her out?

Even as he pulled her into the genjutsu, he was still unsure.


	43. Chapter 43

Sakura felt herself pulled into the genjutsu the moment it happened. She assumed that Itachi did this on purpose in an effort to keep her from freaking out. And well, it didn't help that much. Her breath was short and labored and she screwed her eyes shut against the nausea brewing in her stomach. She had given him permission for this, and she knew how annoyed he was that she still feared his Sharingan. So she steeled herself and prepared for whatever he was going to show her.

When she opened her eyes she was not exactly prepared for the sight before her. Though she knew that Itachi would never have showed her anything traumatizing, she had been resolved to see something dark – some piece of his past that would help her to understand him better.

But what she saw instead was Sasuke – merely a toddler now, with an adorable set of cat ears perched on his messy coal hair. He was bouncing up and down excitedly while an equally adorable child Itachi (also sporting cat ears) shushed him.

"Be quiet," little Itachi said. "Or you'll scare him away."

Sakura bit back a squeal of delight.

Itachi put a finger to his lips and pointed to a large feral cat hiding just underneath a massive oak tree. It was nestled in a pile of fallen leaves and snoozing away, oblivious to the two boys sneaking up on it.

Sakura realized that this must have been one of Itachi's memories. They were in the forests outside Konoha, recognizable to Sakura even in the genjutsu. She watched attentively as Itachi pulled a small book out of his pocket and handed it to Sasuke.

"Don't wake him up," he whispered to Sasuke. "Or he'll run away."

Sasuke eagerly took the book from Itachi's grasp and opened it to a blank page. Itachi reached into his pocket again and pulled out a pad of ink, which Sasuke snatched before Itachi handed it over.

With an encouraging smile, Itachi pushed Sasuke forward toward the cat. Sasuke tossed a nervous look back over his shoulder before he toddled closer to the cat as quietly as a child of his age could. Even Sakura held her breath as she watched.

When he was close enough, Sasuke bent down and lifted the cat's front paw delicately and pressed it into the inkpad. He then jerked the cat's leg too roughly toward the blank page, causing the cat to screech and leap away before Sasuke could capture his paw print. Sasuke groaned as he watched the cat scurry up the oak tree and cling to the high branches, horrified.

"You were too rough, Sasuke," Itachi chided, approaching him from behind. "You have to be gentle so you don't scare him."

Sasuke turned to look at his big brother with adorably concerned eyes. "What do we do now?" he asked.

"We have to wait until he falls asleep again."

"But I've seen you get paw prints from cats that are awake," Sasuke argued. "Much bigger cats."

"Yes," Itachi said agreeably. "But this particular cat will have to be asleep. He does not like humans, so we have to sneak up on him."

Sasuke groaned again. Itachi smiled and petted his head affectionately. "It's okay, Sasuke," he said. "You will get him next time."

Sasuke grinned up at his older brother and latched himself to his leg.

And then Sakura felt that pull again, the sucking feeling in her chest that indicated she was being pulled out of the genjutsu. The sun on the Uchiha training grounds hit her again and she squinted until she could adjust. Itachi was beside her, his hands hovering over her, maybe to catch her in case she teetered after the effects of the genjutsu.

But she remained firmly on her feet and turned to give Itachi an idiotic grin.

"You were so _cute_!" she squealed, unable to contain the sheer delight she felt at having witnessed the precious memory.

Itachi rolled his eyes, but he was grinning and clearly pleased that she had enjoyed herself. "It was a game I made up for Sasuke," he said. "To keep him occupied while I was busy. I gave him a book to collect paw prints in."

She squealed again.

"I just wanted to share one of my more pleasant memories with you," he explained. "You got me thinking the other day when you asked me about when I was the happiest. Sometimes it seems like you think my entire life has been one dark tragedy after the next, but I had lots of happy moments, too."

Sakura's grin disappeared. "I don't think that at all, Itachi," she said. "I don't… I don't pity you, if that's what you think."

He reached up and cupped her cheek in his hand. "I know you don't," he said. "I just wanted to share that with you."

Consoled, but still a little skeptical, Sakura stepped into his embrace, wrapping her arms around his waist. "Thank you," she said. "I guess you win."

"Hmm?"

"The spar," she clarified. "You could have done anything to me in that genjutsu. I shouldn't have let myself get caught in it."

He pulled back away from her to look at her face. "You could have poisoned that senbon and killed me," he argued.

She laughed. Wouldn't that have been something? The mighty Uchiha slain by a mere senbon. "That's not a very fitting way for you to go, Itachi-kun," she said with a giggle.

"Oh?" he asked. "And what would be a fitting way for me to go?"

"Have you thought about letting Sasuke kill you?"

He raised an eyebrow, prompting another burst of giggles from her.

"Hey, do you still have those cat ears?"

Itachi shook his head with exasperation.

.

Sakura didn't realize how much she enjoyed doing absolutely nothing. It was another rare day off and while she might have come up with an excuse to spend it with Itachi, she didn't have to. He was more than willing to do absolutely nothing with her, much to her relief.

They lay sprawled out on Itachi's couch, her head in his lap while he read a book. She absently flicked chakra senbon up into the air, letting them fall back down onto her so she could reabsorb them. It was akin to doing absolutely nothing, which she felt perfectly pleased about. It felt great to be doing nothing but relaxing.

In fact, they had been sitting there for at least an hour already when her stomach grumbled loudly.

"Itachi-kun…"

He shook his head emphatically before she could even ask the question. "No," he said. "You make lunch this time."

Pouting, she rolled over onto her elbows and gave him her best puppy dog eyes.

"That won't work on me."

"Please?" she tried again, this time with a delicate flutter of her lashes.

"Is this what it's going to be like?" he asked, a faint smirk on his lips. "Will I have to cook all your meals and take care of you? Are you going to flutter your lashes to always get your way?"

She pressed a kiss to his forearm where it came close to her face. "You'll just have to learn what has the same effect on me, Itachi-kun," she said. "Then you can have your way sometimes, too."

"I already know what works on you, hime," he said, grasping her upper arm and twisting them so that he hovered on top of her. He trailed his fingertips lightly up the length of her body and let them rest on the side of her neck. He bent down close to her, grazing the tip of his nose against her cheek. "How about you make some lunch for us, hime?" he murmured low in her ear, his breath ghosting over its shell. She shivered automatically and she didn't need to see his face to know that he was delighting in it.

"Hmm," she responded, pushing at his chest gently. "Fine, you win. But we both know your cooking is better, so I hope you're prepared to eat some mediocre food."

She stood brusquely to accommodate his request, knowing well and good that she was going to cook subpar food on purpose. With an amused grin, he yanked her back to the couch, pulling her into his lap.

"I don't know when you got so good at seduction," she said, pressing her face into his neck. "But I'm not complaining."

"This isn't seduction," he answered, his hand molding to the back of her head, holding her in place. "This is manipulation. And I've always been very good at that."

She was about to respond with some witty retort when the front door burst open. Both Sasuke and Naruto shuffled inside, each carrying a pack on his back, Naruto holding another in his hand.

"Eww, gross," Sasuke said when he caught sight of Itachi and Sakura on the couch.

"Sakura, we've got to go," Naruto said, ignoring Sasuke. "Team 8 called for backup. They found Kabuto."

Sakura immediately rushed to her feet, snatching her pack from Naruto's hand.

"Kabuto?" Itachi asked, also rising to his feet.

"Sasuke didn't tell you?" Sakura asked, though she was mentally kicking herself for not telling him either. "We have a mission. We're tracking down Kabuto."

"The tracking part's done," Naruto said impatiently. "Team 8 needs us _now_."

"Alright, alright," Sakura said as she pulled on her shoes. "Let's go."

She flung her pack onto her back and turned to look at Itachi. He looked hurt, and she couldn't blame him. She should have told him sooner about the mission.

"I'll come with you," he said.

"Absolutely not, Itachi," Sakura insisted. "Kabuto's disease is highly infectious and really dangerous. I'm sure between the six of us we can handle it."

He did not look pleased at all by this and Sakura felt another pang of guilt sharp in her gut. "I'm sorry, Itachi," she said, placating him with a gentle hand on his arm. "We'll be back soon. Don't worry."

He didn't argue like she had when she had been in his position before. He merely nodded and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Okay," he conceded. "Be safe."

She gave him one last peck on the lips before she was gone.

.

Team 8 had sent word that they had engaged Kabuto in combat and were a mere ten miles north of Konoha. That was much too close for Tsunade's liking, Sakura figured, and taking care of Kabuto had become priority number one.

With what research she had done, Sakura was certain that Kabuto planned to unleash his infection on Konoha (and maybe even the shinobi world at large) fairly soon. But she also knew that a smart and capable medic nin like Kabuto would not have created a disease he would become infected by.

Which meant that he was likely in possession of an inoculation.

And Sakura needed to find it.

If she had more time, she could probably find a cure for it herself. Now that she knew a little bit about how Kabuto planned to spread the infection, she was certain she could figure it out.

But she didn't have the luxury of time and there wasn't a necessity for it if Kabuto already had one.

"So what's the plan?" Naruto asked as they sped through the trees. They were quickly approaching Kabuto's location. Sakura could feel the pulses and waves of chakra from the ensuing battle up ahead of them.

"I need to find where Kabuto has been doing to research," Sakura said. "I have to get to his inoculations. You two assist Team 8 and I'll sneak into his base and see what I can find."

Sasuke gave her a sharp look. "What if we need your help?"

Sakura nearly laughed. Sasuke had never needed or wanted her help before – well, no that wasn't true. He had kidnapped her for her medical knowledge. He must have been worried about catching the infection.

"Try not to need it."

.

When they arrived at the scene it was pure chaos. Sakura could see why they had called for back up. Apparently, the people Orochimaru had kept prisoner remained loyal to Kabuto even after the sannin's death, so not only did Team 8 have to fend off Kabuto, but they were literally surrounded by hundreds of Sound nin.

"Hinata!"

Naruto jolted forward when he caught sight of the Byakugan user in a messy taijutsu match with seven Sound shinobi. Kiba and Shino were nearby, also embroiled in matches of their own. Sakura scanned the area, looking for Kabuto and found him perched on top of a large boulder, his glasses glinting in the sun. She couldn't see his eyes through the glare on his glasses, but she had the uneasy feeling that he was looking right at her.

Sasuke halted Naruto with a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't rush in," he said. "We need to come up with a plan first."

"Kabuto is on top of that boulder," Sakura said to them. "Can one of you engage him?"

"I can handle Kabuto," Sasuke said with unwavering confidence. "But what do we do about all these Sound shinobi? There are too many of them."

Before Naruto or Sakura could answer, Kabuto leapt toward them, landing in front of the trio with a malicious grin. He made quite a sight standing there with the battle raging behind him.

"Sakura," he said with faux politeness. "I'd like to think you reconsidered my offer, but I doubt you'd have brought along your precious teammates if that were the case."

"You're out of your league, Kabuto," Sasuke said. "I killed your master, remember?"

Kabuto turned to look at Sasuke, his eyes narrow and amused. "Look at you, Sasuke- _kun_ ," he said. Sakura saw Sasuke's hands clench into fists. "You're probably right about that – I wouldn't be able to best you in a fight. But I'm not interested in fighting you."

"What _are_ you interested in, Kabuto?" Sakura demanded. "What's your game?"

Kabuto pushed his glasses up farther on the bridge of his nose with dark chuckle. His casual demeanor infuriated Sakura – such a stark contrast to the bloodbath behind him.

Before Kabuto could answer (and it definitely seemed like he was going to), Sasuke lunged at him with a Chidori chirping in his palm.

This wasn't quite what Sakura was hoping for, but she used that distraction to survey the area, looking for Kabuto's base. Sasuke and Kabuto squared off to fight one another, though Sakura caught the disapproving and curious look that Kabuto shot her.

Naruto fled toward Hinata and her team, much to Sakura's relief. They looked like they needed help.

So now all she needed was the inoculation.

It was difficult to focus on her task while she could hear the sounds of battle before her. There were cries of pain, the metal clash of weapons. The medic in her wanted nothing more than to stop what she was doing and help the injured.

But she stayed focused, scanning the trees for any sign of a building or facility where Kabuto could have been doing his research. For a moment she felt panicked because what if they were nowhere near his base?

But then she saw it: a crater in the earth with a reinforced steel door sealing away something underground. She made her way over to it quickly and without bothering to see if it was unlocked smashed it down with a chakra enhanced fist.

She took one last glance back at her team who seemed to be uninjured for now before she headed inside.

.

Kabuto's new base looked remarkably similar to the bunker she had seen before. She had never seen it furnished, though, and she was surprised by the amount of scrolls, books, bottles, medical tools, and loose papers around. It looked very much like Kabuto had been working hard down here.

She also noted that directly across from the room she stood in (which appeared to be Kabuto's laboratory) was a row of empty cells, each with its door wide open. So the Sound shinobi must have been prisoners here.

Ignoring the implications of that, Sakura began riffling through Kabuto's things. She had expected the strange man to be a bit more meticulous with his note keeping, but to her chagrin, it was difficult to decipher the congruity of his notes. It seemed that everything was jumbled together – not a code, but a mess.

Hoping that Sasuke and Naruto could buy her more time, Sakura went through his notes with methodical care. It seemed that Kabuto had been working on much more than just the infection, but Sakura was unconcerned with the other things. If they were successful in killing Kabuto it wouldn't matter anymore. All that mattered was finding the infection and eradicating it.

So whenever she stumbled across notes, a journal, or a scroll that pertained to the infection, she collected them in her pack. Quickly her pack became full, so she found a basket of herbs and emptied it so that she could use it to carry more notes.

In her search, she came across a notebook that looked particularly interesting. Most of Kabuto's journals were grey or black with unlined pages, but this one was camel colored leather with grids. A quick perusal made it clear that this journal was coded – and Sakura had a feeling she would need it. She tossed it into the basket with the rest of the notes and kept searching.

She couldn't quite say why, but she felt like she was missing a crucial piece of information. She crossed into the prisoner's section of the base and began looking through the pages that lay scattered about on the ground.

"Sakura!"

Sakura's head snapped up at the sound of her name being called and she dropped the page in her hand.

"Sakura!" Naruto bellowed. He sounded too far away and too desperate. "Sakura, where are you?"

"I'm here, Naruto," she said, walking back into the main room. "What's wrong?"

But he didn't need to answer because as soon as she saw him she knew. Slung over his shoulder was a very pale (well, paler than usual) looking Sasuke. He was out cold and hanging limp. Sakura could see beads of sweat along his forehead and a stream of blood coming from the corner of his mouth.

"What happened?" she breathed.

"Kabuto is down," Naruto said as he gently set Sasuke down on a nearby table. "Sasuke killed him. But Team 8 is still fighting those Sound shinobi and I think Kabuto found some way to infect Sasuke."

Sakura had her hands on Sasuke's chest the instant he was on the table, threading her chakra carefully in his system. If he had the infection, that was not good news at all. Sakura was unsure of how to cure it at this point and she sure as hell wasn't going to let Sasuke die on this table.

"Go help Team 8," she instructed. "And if you can, bring me Kabuto's body when you're done."

Naruto hesitated.

"Will he be okay?"

"I'm going to do everything I can, Naruto," she answered tersely. "Now go."

.

Sasuke was in bad condition and rapidly getting worse. A cursory diagnosis led Sakura to believe that he was indeed sick with Kabuto's weaponized disease and that it was different enough from his original one that Sakura had no idea where to begin to process of finding a cure.

She was torn between scouring Kabuto's notes and using her chakra to help Sasuke cope with the infection. It was spreading throughout his respiratory system very quickly, but Sakura managed to keep his lungs clear so that even in his declining state he could still breathe.

She settled for doing a bit of both. With one hand on Sasuke's chest, she used the other to flip through the pages of Kabuto's notebook looking for any type of clue that would lead her to a solution.

There was fluid building up in Sasuke's lungs that Sakura found very concerning. If she didn't know any better, she would say that it was actually chakra. Viscous chakra.

She scribbled something down in one of Kabuto's notebooks, her chicken scratch barely legible even to herself. The disease as she had researched back in Konoha was spread through many different means – the same ones a regular disease might spread through (air, water, physical contact). She couldn't tell which way Sasuke had been affected, but she'd wager based on the fact that he had the unknown fluid in his lungs that he had breathed it in.

The door to the bunker burst open behind her, but she did not turn to look. She could tell that it was Naruto.

"How's he doing, Sakura?"

"It's not looking good right now, Naruto."

She heard shuffling behind her and turned to see Naruto deposit all three members of Team 8 gently onto the ground. "Looks like I have some bad news, then," he said solemnly. She glanced up at his face and saw that his eyes were red. The kyuubi.

He rushed forward and grabbed Sasuke's hand, a grim expression on his face. She watched his eyes fade back into blue and the orange chakra that surrounded him began to fade away.

"Did you take care of the Sound shinobi?"

He nodded. "Yeah, they're all dead."

"Are the three of them all sick, too?" she asked, internally praying that they weren't.

"I think so."

Sakura swallowed hard and let her gaze fall to the basket of notes at her feet. Kabuto wouldn't have felt confident utilizing the infection if he hadn't already created a cure for it as well. She would need to find it and use it on herself before she could continue to work on Sasuke or anyone else. If she got sick too they would all be screwed.

"Okay, Naruto, I need you to go see if you can find the inoculations Kabuto made," she said. "I'll have to stay here and monitor everyone to make sure they're able to breathe at all times, but I believe the disease was contracted via the air – at least in Sasuke's case. That means you need to be careful about where you breathe."

Naruto nodded sharply but still looked a little confused.

"Should I send word back to Konoha first?" he asked.

"No!" she shrieked. "Absolutely not. I don't know how contagious this thing is. There's a chance we could infect everyone in the village. We need to stay here until we've figured this all out."

"Okay…" he said, still looking very unsure. "What do these inoculations look like?"

Sakura resisted the urge to sigh. She couldn't really blame him because she hadn't been able to find them either. But things were now at a boiling point and she could feel the stressed beginnings of a panic attack building up in her chest.

She couldn't let anyone die. She just couldn't.

Naruto, sensing her mood, left quickly in search of the inoculations while Sakura continued to monitor her four patients.

Sasuke was by far in the worst condition – possibly because he had been infected for the longest amount of time. Whatever differences were present in this new strain of the infection made its symptoms appear much worse.

After several minutes of silence while Sakura continuously cleared fluid from the lungs of her patients, Naruto burst back into the room.

"Sakura I think I found what you're looking for, but I can't get to it," he explained. "There's a cabinet in this other room and looks like it has a seal on it. There's some kind of inscription, but it looks like a code. I don't know how to open it."

With one hand on Kiba's chest, Sakura bent down and reached into her notes basket. She pulled out the leather journal and tossed it to Naruto.

"There's a code in that journal. Does it look like the same code?" she asked.

He skimmed through the pages, his brow furrowed. He scratched his head and let out a regretful sigh. "I wish Shikamaru were here," he said.

Sakura sighed too. She felt Kiba's breath hitch and she sent another surge of chakra into his lungs.

"Naruto," Sakura said. "How are you not sick, too? Weren't you outside with everyone else? Were the other Sound shinobi not sick either?"

Naruto shrugged. "Some of them _were_ sick," he answered. "But I figured that Kabuto didn't care to vaccinate all of them. Hinata told me he let them all out after they got there. I don't think that he thought he could handle the three of them alone."

Sakura pursed her lips because she wasn't so sure that was true. Kabuto was a very skilled fighter. He could have given the three of them a run for their money.

"But you…" she mumbled, "you aren't sick."

"You aren't sick either," he pointed out.

That was true, she supposed. If physical contact were one way to catch the infection, then touching Sasuke would have been enough to do her in. Somehow, she hadn't shown any symptoms yet. But that didn't mean she wasn't sick.

She sent another thread of chakra into Kiba, specifically looking at his chakra points. Sure enough, much like the last disease, there were clusters of cloyed chakra accumulated where his natural chakra should have been.

A diagnostic run of her own chakra system showed smaller, but still present clusters of the same cloyed chakra. So she _was_ sick.

Was Naruto?

"Come here," she said to him. "Let me check on your chakra system."

She placed her hand on his chest when he approached sent more diagnostic chakra into him. She half expected to find that same sticky chakra in his chakra points as well, but she found none. Instead, she noticed an odd separation of his personal chakra and the kyuubi's chakra. She wondered if that was normal, but she didn't have time to ask.

"Okay, Naruto, listen to me carefully," she said, pulling her hand away. He was immediately alert, his eyes bright with determination. "I'm sick, too. I think I might be developing symptoms more slowly because I'd immunized myself to the previous disease. I'll be able to keep the infection at bay for now, but we need to get those inoculations."

He swallowed, his eyes slightly widening.

"I think you're immune, Naruto," she said. "I think the kyuubi's chakra is preventing the infectious chakra from taking over. You need to go back to Konoha and get Shikamaru so we can figure out how to get into that cabinet."

He glanced down at Sasuke on the table. She could see the worry in his eyes.

"Wear a mask," she said, pulling one out of her pack. "And stay away from anyone you don't have to talk to. Don't go into populated areas. Go straight to Shikamaru and then come straight back."

"Won't he get sick?"

"We have to take that risk," she said. "Hopefully the cure is in that cabinet."

Naruto nodded, but she saw the look of concern on his face before he dashed out of the bunker and was gone.


	44. Chapter 44

Three days after Sakura and Sasuke left Itachi started to get worried. He had learned from Kakashi that Kabuto had been discovered by Team 8 only ten miles north of Konoha – still well within Fire's borders.

If Kabuto was so close, then why was their mission taking so long? They should have been back a while ago. Was Tsunade not concerned? She seemed to be quite close with Sakura. Surely she was as worried as Itachi was.

With this in mind, Itachi made his way to the Hokage tower, intent on asking Tsunade to send him out as backup.

He knocked politely on her door and entered when she barked her approval.

But in a discouraging manner, she rolled her eyes when she saw him. "Itachi," she said with just the barest hint of venom in her tone. "I suppose you're here about Sasuke."

And Sakura, too, but he kept that to himself.

"Yes, Hokage-sama," he said. "Teams 7 and 8 have not returned yet, and I'm worried they may need backup."

Tsunade scoffed. "Yeah, I'm sure they could use some help," she said icily. "Not from you, though."

The door behind him burst open, preventing him from saying whatever biting thing popped first into his mind. He was grateful for this because he didn't like to make a habit of disrespecting his superiors, but Tsunade (in a way that neither Hiruzen or Minato had) really grated on his nerves.

"Tsunade-baa-chan!"

Itachi turned his head at the sound of the familiar voice and was quite surprised to see Naruto in a full HAZMAT suit. He shuffled awkwardly into the room, his plastic encased head bumping ungracefully into the doorframe.

"Naruto," Tsunade said sharply, both alert and a little annoyed. "I told you not to come up here. I told Shizune to leave the crate downstairs for you."

"Yeah, yeah, I saw the crate," he said flippantly.

"Then why the hell did you come up here?" she demanded, cutting him off before he could tell her what she had just asked.

"What's Itachi doing here?" Naruto asked, giving Itachi a dubious look.

"Get out, Naruto!"

"I just don't understand why I have to wear this thing if I'm not sick!" he exclaimed brashly.

"Because you could still be carrying the infection," she said impatiently. "You could be infecting me and Itachi right now – so get out!"

She looked tired and frustrated and thankfully Naruto decided it was best to obey her at that moment, in spite of neglecting to do whatever it was he had come into her office to do. He turned politely to leave, but Itachi didn't miss the way he rolled his eyes at her as he shut the door behind him.

"Are they all sick?" Itachi asked when it seemed that Tsunade was not going to offer up any information on her own.

"All but Sakura and Naruto."

So Sasuke was sick… This was not good. He knew enough from listening to Sakura – this disease was designed specifically to infect and kill shinobi. Kabuto was a medical genius – a disease of this caliber was not something to be taken lightly.

Which meant that his only option was to trust Sakura.

"If you don't mind, Itachi," Tsunade said, still terse and irritable. "I have work to do."

"Wait," Itachi said, not caring for the way she shrugged him off so coldly. She could have a little compassion for a man whose little brother and future wife were in potential danger. "Is there anything I can do to help? Are they still at Kabuto's base? Shouldn't we make an effort to bring them to the hospital?"

"Absolutely not," she snapped. "I'm not bringing that disease anywhere near the village. It was risky enough bringing Naruto here."

"So you're just going to leave them out there?"

Her eyes finally drifted away from the pages on her desk that had seemed to capture her interest so well and settled on Itachi in a very disconcerting manner. Itachi only just managed not to flinch under the intense look.

"This is Sakura's specialty," she said slowly like she was talking to a small child. "I trust her to handle this, and so should you."

"They've already been there for three days," he argued. He could usually concede that the Hokage knew better than he did in most situations. But not where Sasuke and Sakura were concerned.

"I'm aware of the situation, Itachi," she snapped again. "Do you think I'm not worried, too? There's nothing that can be done. Now get out of my office."

Itachi was gone before she finished the sentence.

.

The feeling of sheer helplessness was absolutely overwhelming. Itachi liked to help people and was nearly always capable of doing so. He had even helped with the first iteration of this disease back in Toyeiki. Sakura had shown him how to use chakra to burn the infection and he had put that technique to good use and helped her clear the inn of patients.

And there was no doubt in his mind that if Sakura showed him what to do that he could be out there helping her. There was no reason she should have to do this alone. In Toyeiki she had Rokuda, and the nurses (well, the one who wasn't a spy) and himself.

Now she just had Naruto, and while Itachi considered him to be a competent ninja, he had a tendency to get underfoot.

Assuming they had killed Kabuto, what if they were unable to find a cure for the disease? Would Sasuke and Team 8 die out there? Would Sakura be able to come back after being exposed for so long?

There were too many unknowns that left Itachi feeling uneasy in the pit of his stomach.

"I know, I know," Itachi heard a familiar voice say. The streets of Konoha were bustling with activity as he walked home, but since most of the people he knew were currently away, curiosity got the better of him and he turned to see who had spoken.

"I just think it's a little unfair that Naruto just came in, swept him up and took him away without even telling us why," Ino Yamanaka said to her walking companion – another familiar, yet unplaceable face. "He was finally going to tell me about him and Temari."

"I'm sure he'll tell you when he gets back," said the white haired, violet-eyed boy next to her.

Ino rolled her eyes, but she had a grin on her face – much too cavalier an attitude to have while her best friend was in danger, Itachi thought.

"Oh, look, it's Itachi-san," she said when she caught him staring at her. She didn't seem to mind as she approached with the strange boy in tow behind her.

"Wow, you look just like Sasuke."

Oh, Itachi thought. That's where he knew this boy. He was Sasuke's teammate. One of the ones who helped to kidnap Sakura. Suigetsu, wasn't it?

"Sasuke looks just like me," Itachi corrected.

Suigetsu laughed.

"Itachi, this is Suigetsu," Ino said. "Suigetsu, this is Sasuke's older brother, Itachi. I think you guys may have met before."

Neither of them offered their hand to shake and Itachi began to feel a little uncomfortable. Just what was Ino doing with this kid?

"Tsunade-sama put me in charge of helping Suigetsu to… uh, assimilate," Ino explained, looking rather unnerved by Itachi's blatant look of concern.

"I see," Itachi said.

There was an uncomfortable silence that stretched between the three of them.

"We'll just be on our way, then…" Ino said.

"Wait," Itachi said for the second time that morning. "What were you saying about Naruto? Who did he take?"

"Oh," she said, visibly surprised by his question. "Naruto was just here a few minutes ago. He came to get Shikamaru."

"Did he say why?"

"No, he was in a hurry."

"Aren't you concerned about Sakura?"

"Why would I be?" she asked.

"She hasn't returned from her mission."

Ino pursed her lips and cocked her hip out in a very Sakura-like fashion. She pointed a manicured finger at Itachi's chest. "What are you talking about? Naruto's back. Why wouldn't Sakura be?"

"She's taking care of Team 8 and Sasuke," Itachi explained. "They're still near Kabuto's base."

He watched the realization dawn on her, her blue eyes widening. "What?" she shrieked. "Why didn't anyone tell me? Is she sick? Are they all sick?"

"Tsunade-sama said she is not sick," Itachi answered. "Neither is Naruto."

"But everyone else is?"

Itachi nodded.

"Well then what's the plan?" she demanded. "How can we help?"

"I don't think Tsunade-sama wants us to help."

"Oh, who cares?" Ino said with a dramatic roll of her eyes. She latched onto Suigetsu's hand and started dragging him of in the opposite direction. "Sakura needs our help. I'm not just going to sit here and do nothing."

Itachi watched her leave without the slightest idea of where she might be going or how she intended to help Sakura. He could hear her growling as she stomped away and then with a particularly angry stomp, she turned back to face him.

"Well?" she said. "Aren't you coming?"

.

Itachi followed Ino and Suigetsu to the hospital where they not so subtly broke into Sakura's office. Itachi was very much against this, but he didn't protest. Though he felt that this was a violation of Sakura's privacy, he wanted to get her and Sasuke home safely – which was more important.

Suigetsu made himself at home, reclining back in Sakura's chair and propping his feet up on her desk. Itachi sent him a heated glare, but he didn't seem to notice.

"Okay," Ino said as she pulled open the drawers of Sakura's desk. "Sakura has been researching what she found in Kabuto's bunker the first time, which led to her figuring out all of the methods by which the disease can be transmitted."

Itachi nodded, giving Ino his full attention. He didn't know how to help Sakura, but Ino might.

"Unfortunately, that doesn't help her much now since we've already got sick patients," Ino explained. "So we'll need to find what she was missing."

Itachi barely restrained himself from rolling his eyes.

"What makes you think we could find what Sakura missed?" Itachi asked. "She's the top in her field."

Ino's eyes flashed at him – a mirror of that heated glare he'd sent to Suigetsu. "Sakura is just a regular person. She needs help sometimes, too," Ino said, the gentle tone of her voice betraying the anger in her scowl. "She didn't cure that disease in Toyeiki by herself."

Itachi deflated a little bit, but he was still quite skeptical.

"What do you suggest we do, then?" he asked patiently.

"We're going to gather all her notes so far and find a way to get them to her," Ino answered.

"Naruto just retrieved a crate from the Hokage tower," Itachi said. "If there were notes she needed, wouldn't they have been in the crate?"

"I doubt it," Ino said. "Tsunade-sama probably just sent her the same stuff she sent her back when she was in Toyeiki. Even if Tsunade-sama thought about it, she wouldn't have known what notes to send."

"Then how do _you_ know?" Suigetsu asked, relieving Itachi of that duty.

"Because _I_ am her best friend," Ino snapped. "And she tells me everything. So I know that this-" she held up a black leather notebook she had pulled from the desk drawer "-is the notebook she's been using for all this Kabuto business."

Itachi watched her flip through the notebook to confirm that it was actually the right one (it was, and Itachi didn't know why that disappointed him).

"Great," Itachi said, and if he had been anyone else, they might have assumed he was being sarcastic. "Let's attach it to a messenger bird."

"Hold on, I'm going to write her an encouraging note first," Ino said, grabbing a slip of paper from the desk. "You know, so she knows how much we love her and how we know she can do it."

"She already knows those things, Ino-san," Itachi said with a sigh. He was starting to think he should have found his own way to help Sakura.

Ino slammed her hand down on the desk and clenched her teeth. "Listen, I know Sakura a lot better than you do," she said pointedly. "She appreciates gestures like this and finds them really encouraging. I'm surprised you don't know that already, Itachi-san."

Itachi had nothing to say to that because after a moment of thought, he realized she was right. Ino knew Sakura a lot better than he did. She had known her for much longer. Itachi didn't know about the notebook in her desk drawer. And while Sakura did seem to appreciate any nice gesture he made, he didn't know specifically which ones she liked best.

But Ino seemed to know and that was a valuable piece of information that he tucked away for later.

.

Nearly an hour later a messenger bird had finally been sent with Sakura's notebook attached and while this was a productive thing to have done, Itachi still felt too helpless.

Suigetsu had left, claiming that he needed to visit Juugo (Sasuke's other teammate, Itachi recalled), but Itachi noticed that the poor Mist-nin seemed to have been very annoyed with Ino. Suigetsu's blatant attempt at putting distance between him and the talkative blonde left Itachi without a similar excuse.

They were still in Sakura's office, and even knowing that Ino was Sakura's best friend, he didn't want to leave her there alone. And he didn't want to kick her out either. She was too feisty – she would make too much of a fuss.

So instead he listened to her complain about Sakura's absence and how Sakura always got better missions than she did and how Sakura made more money and people really seemed to like her.

Itachi barely paid any attention to what she was saying, but he caught enough to understand that Ino was jealous of Sakura, which struck him as rather odd. Ino wasn't lacking in any department that he was aware of. She was a talented kunoichi from a respectable clan. She was a bit annoying, but everyone had their faults.

It wasn't until she started complaining about her lack of love life that Itachi felt the need to speak up.

"You said you know Sakura better than anyone," Itachi said, interrupting whatever train of thought she had been spewing. "What does she think about me?"

Ino paused and her eyes widened, which was pretty disconcerting because they were already pretty wide.

"Well, for one," Ino began with a very sassy tone. "She would find it highly amusing that you'd ask me that."

Itachi suddenly regretted asking.

"But I think you already know that Sakura wears her heart on her sleeve. Whatever she's told you, that's what she thinks."

"That's not very helpful."

"Helpful?" Ino asked with a raised eyebrow. "What do you need help for? Trouble in paradise?"

Itachi scowled and shook his head. "Forget I asked," he said. "We have more important things to be worrying about anyway."

Frantically, Ino grabbed Itachi's wrist and pushed him into Sakura's chair. He allowed her to without much protest, but he glared at her mutely so she would be aware of how much he disliked it.

"There isn't anything we can do to help Sakura right now," Ino said, hopping up onto Sakura's desk. "So why don't you tell me what you need help with? Is something wrong between you and Sakura?"

Itachi sighed and knew that he would come to regret this. But his curiosity got the better of him. "Nothing is wrong. In fact, things are going very well."

"Then why'd you ask?"

"You know Sakura really well," he said. "You know what she likes and doesn't like. She's already told me that she will marry me when the times comes, and though I don't believe she said that out of obligation, I just want to reassure her that it won't be a mistake."

"A mistake?"

"We were tossed into a sticky situation," Itachi answered. "But I love her and I want her to know that. So tell me what type of gestures she likes. What would she want from me?"

Ino was uncharacteristically stoic and she looked like she was about to explode.

"Ino?"

"You love her?" she shrieked. "Just tell her you love her! That's how she'll know, you idiot."

Itachi narrowed his eyes. "I already told her," he said. "Or rather, she told me and I said it back."

Ino rolled her eyes so far back in her head Itachi thought she would faint. "I can't believe Sakura didn't tell me!" she exclaimed. "That bitch!"

"Hey," Itachi said sharply.

Ino ignored him. "When did this happen? Oh, I am so angry with her right now. She better hurry up and cure that thing so she can get back here and I can kill her."

"Ino," Itachi said, more sharply this time. "Focus. Just give me some pointers on how to impress her."

"Look, you don't need me to tell you any of this," Ino said. "Sakura just appreciates any gesture – any kind at all. She just likes knowing that you're thinking about her. Like when I was… depressed, Sakura would leave me nice notes or clean up my messes when I was too lazy."

"That's not big enough."

"Big?" Ino asked. "She doesn't need _big_. Sasuke fucked her up so much, even the tiniest bit of attention is enough to keep her going."

Itachi visibly recoiled.

"Oh, sorry," she said. "I shouldn't have said that. Just give her flowers or something."

Itachi actually did roll his eyes this time. He hadn't forgotten about the white lilies incident. "You have been astoundingly unhelpful, Ino," Itachi said, rising to his feet.

"Wait, no, I'm sorry," she said. "I'll help you."

Itachi gave her a skeptical look, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

.

Each passing hour with Ino left Itachi feeling increasingly uncomfortable. First they had broken into Sakura's office, and now they had broken into her apartment as well. Well, technically since Ino had a key it wasn't considered "breaking in" but that didn't make Itachi feel any better about it.

Ino led him straight up to Sakura's bedroom, to his utter discomfort. He hadn't been in there since he had cleaned it and it felt inappropriate to be in there without Sakura.

"What are we doing in here, Ino?"

"Relax, Itachi," Ino said, crawling onto the floor and reaching underneath the bed. Itachi distantly noted that both of them had dropped the suffixes, which felt very strange to him. "I'm just grabbing something real quick."

She pulled a plain looking wooden box out from underneath the bed and extended it to Itachi. He took it with a skeptical glance at her before he quickly turned and left the bedroom.

In the safety of the living room, Itachi set the box down on the coffee table and watched Ino pull the lid off of it.

"Are you sure we should be doing this?" he asked. "Isn't this a massive violation of her privacy?"

For whatever reason, Ino beamed up at him and shook her head. "I can see why Sakura likes you so much," she said, much to Itachi's confusion.

She set the lid aside and pushed the box into Itachi's hands. "These are things that hold sentimental value to her," Ino explained. "If you want to know more about her, this box is the most efficient way to do that – you know, other than just talking to her and being around her. But I understand you can't do that right now."

Itachi had to hand it to her – this wasn't a bad idea. Ignoring the rising guilt in his gut, Itachi peered into the box. On the very top was a picture of Team 7. He picked it up and studied it. It was difficult at first to draw his eyes away from Sasuke. This Sasuke was so young, so closely resembling the Sasuke he had left behind all those years ago.

But thinking of Sasuke only reminded him that his precious little brother was sick, and he didn't want to think of that while he could do nothing about it.

So he turned his attention instead to Sakura, who couldn't have been more than twelve years old in the picture. Her hair was much longer and her eyes had a brightness in them – one born of innocence and youth that would likely never be there again.

He set the picture aside and picked up the next object in the box – a red ribbon.

"I gave her that when we were little kids," Ino said. "Everyone teased her because her forehead is so massive, but I told her she should show it off and be proud of it."

Itachi ran his finger over the worn ribbon. He imagined it would look quite good on her. "Don't _you_ tease her about her forehead?" he asked.

"Sure, but she knows I don't mean it," she answered. "She calls me Pig and I know she doesn't mean it either. We just like to tease each other."

Itachi understood that because he had a very similar relationship with her. Sakura definitely liked to tease him a lot. He teased her on occasion – when the time called for it – but maybe he should tease her some more since she seemed to like it so much.

He placed the ribbon on the couch next to him beside the picture and peered back into the box. He pulled out a small glass jar that contained some sort of brownish liquid.

"It's a poison," Ino explained. "The first one she came up with an antidote for."

He set that aside too and reached in for the next item. There were various medical tools in there – ones that perhaps were given to her by Tsunade or maybe used during some sort of milestone achievement in the medical field.

He ignored all those things and grabbed onto a stack of small papers. Some of them were tests she had passed during her time at the academy while others were mission missives or medical documents. Nothing that was of particular interest to Itachi.

There were a handful of tickets and receipts in the box as well. Itachi quickly shuffled through them, looking for one in particular.

And there it was near the bottom of the stack – the receipt from their date. The restaurant's name was emblazed at the top and he checked the date just to make sure. She had kept a memento from their first date.

A slow grin spread across his face while he set the receipts aside, too.

There were a few more pictures in the boxes – ones of her and her parents, her with Sachi and Yamato, and a number of Konoha nins he didn't recognize. A handful of kunai and shuriken littered the bottom of the boxes – possible gifts, Itachi speculated.

The last thing in the box was a small pendant. It was a small ruby dangling from a silver chain. It was tiny and delicate, so Itachi placed it gently back into the box. "Do you know what this is?" he asked Ino.

"A necklace?"

Itachi didn't dignify that with a response as he carefully put all of Sakura's belongings back into the box and then placed the lid back on top.

"I don't know where she got that," Ino said.

Itachi passed the box back to Ino, who held it clutched in her lap. "So," she began. "Was the helpful? Did you find out what you needed to know?"

Itachi tilted his head while he pondered this. He didn't feel like he had gained any new insight into who Sakura was as a person. The things she valued he had already known about – they were typical for her. What person wouldn't value their friends, family, and career?

The necklace was a mystery to him and he would have to ask Sakura about that later. Though he wasn't sure how he would do such a thing without admitting that he had gone through her personal things.

And again he felt a sudden helplessness. Sasuke was in trouble and Sakura was the only person who could help him. She had held his own life in her hands so many times, and now she had Sasuke's too. It was easy to take her for granted sometimes – even in the short amount of time they'd known one another. He relied on her in a way he had never relied on anyone else before.

And the realization dawned on him that he literally couldn't live without her. She had been a crucial piece that had been missing from his life for so long, but now she was in it and he couldn't possibly make do without her.

"Yeah," Itachi said to Ino, "I did. I want to ask her to marry me."

Ino squealed with delight and crashed her body into his, embracing him in a frantic and disconcerting hug. "Oh, I can't believe it!" she yelled. "My best friend is getting married! And I'll get to be the maid of honor! We have so much work to do. We'll have to find her a dress. We need to pick a theme. What kind of food do you think Sakura will want? Oh, you guys should have a summer wedding! That would be lovely wouldn't it? I just think—"

"She hasn't agreed to marry me yet," Itachi said, interrupting her tirade. He pushed her away from him with a gentle but firm hand.

"I'll help you plan the proposal."

Itachi looked at her with a detached sort of interest. After the flower incident he didn't really want her help – not with something this big. Although she had proved pretty useful in providing him with the wooden box.

But she was a huge gossip and he didn't want it to get back to Sakura that he was planning on proposing. He supposed that cat was already out of the bag, though.

"Okay, you can help," Itachi conceded. "But don't tell Sakura anything."

Ino squealed again and Itachi just barely managed to evade her second hug.


	45. Chapter 45

Four days after Sasuke had gotten sick and one day after Shikamaru had arrived, he solved the code. For four days, Sakura had tended to Team 8 and Sasuke, nearly exhausting herself in the process. She couldn't leave them unattended for any substantial length of time because of the fluid constantly building up in their lungs.

And if it weren't for Naruto lending her his chakra, she would never have been able to do it. But still – it had been four days since she had slept and the only thing providing her with any sustenance was a bag of quickly dwindling food pills.

So when Shikamaru popped open the locked cabinet with a triumphant grin, Sakura felt the weight of the world melt off her shoulders.

Just as she had suspected, Kabuto's inoculations were inside. There were several rows of vaccines, plenty enough to give to everyone infected so far and still have some leftover to study when she got back to Konoha.

And Sakura couldn't wait to get back to Konoha. She missed her regular shift at the hospital. She missed Ino and Tsunade and Itachi.

She knew they missed her, too. Just yesterday morning she had received a messenger bird with her notebook attached. Inside had been a note written by Ino – one that put a huge smile on her face in spite of the uselessness of sending the notebook. Ino had signed Itachi's name too, though Sakura doubted he had much to do with it.

But it was still sweet and it warmed her heart.

After injecting her wards with the vaccine, Sakura noted that they were still quite fatigued and weak, though their condition was rapidly improving. The fluid in their lungs dissipated and their high fevers went away. She sent a surge of exploratory chakra in each of their systems to make sure their chakra was functioning normally and no longer had the stickiness that made their chakra difficult to use.

And finding them to be back in perfect condition, Sakura instructed Naruto and Shikamaru to grab whoever they could and help her carry them back to Konoha. They needed to get to the hospital where they could be monitored until Sakura was sure they were all better.

Not to mention she was dying to analyze the cure so she could duplicate it and never have to worry about it again.

Naruto slung Sasuke over his shoulder, looking immensely relieved. "Thank you, Sakura," he said, giving her a warm and appreciative smile. "I don't know what we would do without you."

She returned his smile and heaved Kiba and Hinata up onto her shoulders. She turned to Shikamaru who had grabbed hold of Shino and the trio leapt off into the trees.

.

When the Konoha gates came into sight, Sakura let out a sigh of relief. Having been informed that they would be arriving, the jonin at the security kiosk let them pass without fuss and the crew headed straight to the hospital where the four unconscious ninjas were sorted into their beds.

Sakura watched as the nurses diagnosed her wards, but she kept a more watchful eye on Sasuke. He seemed to be doing much better, but she was concerned about how much fluid had been in lungs compared to Team 8. Sasuke might have a bit of trouble breathing when he woke up.

Deciding that it would be best to run the extra syringe down to analysis and come back later, she turned to leave Sasuke's room.

Itachi was standing in the doorway when she turned around. In her exhaustion she hadn't sensed him. He had an expression of concern on his, but he looked relieved at the same time.

"Sakura," he said hesitantly.

"Itachi."

"How is he?"

"His condition is stable," she said. "He's weak and will probably be unconscious for a little while longer, but he will be fine."

"And what about you?"

She swallowed and resisted the urge to take a few steps toward him and collapse into him. She was drained and wanted nothing more than to curl up in bed and sleep for a few days.

"Just a little tired," she said.

He gave her a skeptical look. "Maybe you should get some rest, then," he said.

"Yeah, I plan to, but I need to take this down to analysis first," she answered. "And then I'd like to come back and check on Sasuke's eyes when he wakes up."

"You haven't slept in four days," he said. It was an admonishment and for some reason it made Sakura's heart clench.

Sensing that something was wrong, Itachi reached forward and pulled her into his chest. Sakura let him, burying her face in his chest and nearly resting her full weight on him.

"Come on," he said. "I'll go with you to take that syringe upstairs. Then we can get you home."

She shook her head. "What about Sasuke?"

"Naruto is just outside," he said, gesturing out the door. "He'll stay with Sasuke."

.

Itachi was patient with her and her sluggish movements. He stayed close beside her while she took the syringe to the lab and instructed the medic-nin there on what needed to be done with it.

When they made it outside the hospital, Sakura let herself sag against him. She felt far too tired to walk all the way home and she said as much to Itachi.

Without ceremony, he picked her up and leapt off in the opposite direction of her apartment.

"Where are we going?" she managed to ask.

"Home."

And then she realized that he was taking her to the Uchiha compound. It wasn't her home and it didn't feel like her home, but she was grateful that he was taking her there. It meant he wouldn't leave her.

And it was going to be her home soon anyway, she thought.

So when he tucked her into his own bed and then joined her, curling his body around hers and nuzzling his face into the back of her neck, Sakura finally did feel like this was her home.

"I'm glad you're safe," he murmured.

"Me, too," she said and then promptly fell asleep.

.

Sakura woke up to smell of fried eggs. Her bones ached and her eyes felt crusted over. She had no idea how long she had been asleep, but she felt deeply content in the warm bed, nice and rested.

She blinked her eyes open slowly and rubbed the grit from them.

"Good morning."

Itachi stood before her with a tray of food in hand. She surveyed the tea, the eggs, the little vase of flowers. She could have cried at the sight.

"You were out for about eighteen hours," he said as he placed the tray into her lap.

She pushed the tray away with a weary groan. "I'm not hungry," she said, even though she knew she needed to eat some real food. The thought of chewing and swallowing turned her stomach, though, and all she really wanted was to curl back up and go back to sleep.

"You really should eat, Sakura," Itachi said patiently.

She ignored the comment because she knew he was right.

"How is Sasuke doing?" she asked.

"He's been discharged from the hospital," he answered. "He and Naruto are out at the training grounds right now."

Sakura didn't think that was such a good idea, but she supposed Sasuke needed to move around a little bit. He had been out for almost five days.

"I want to go back to sleep," she said, catching Itachi's eye. He wore an amused grin that made her stomach flip.

"Okay," he said. "Do you want me to get you anything? A change of clothes? Something else to eat?"

Sakura groaned again and flung a pillow at him. "Stop being so perfect," she said. "Just come get into bed with me."

He chuckled and took the tray from her lap and set it on the nightstand before crawling into the bed. Belatedly, Sakura realized that it had been several days since she had bathed and she reeked.

"I smell awful," she said.

"Yeah, you do."

She shoved him playfully and huffed. "I should take a shower."

"Would you like me to run a bath for you?"

She smiled because that sounded really nice. She could sink into the warm water and relax. The only thing that sounded better than that was…

"Only if you join me."

She felt him stiffen behind her, but a moment later he was pulling her out of bed with a coy smile.

.

Sakura eased herself down into the water and leaned back against Itachi's chest. She was surprised that he had agreed to this, but he seemed quite happy to be there. He offered to wash her hair for her – a luxury Sakura had never experienced before.

And after feeling his magic fingers work the suds into her scalp, she figured he'd be doing it a lot more often now.

"I'm really proud of you, hime," he murmured into her ear.

She scoffed. "I don't know what for," she said. "I didn't come up with the cure. I wasn't the one who cracked the code."

"You held four lives in your hands for four straight days," he replied. "Sasuke is only still alive because of you."

Sakura shrugged indifferently, but she glowed under his praise. She didn't think Itachi was the kind of person to fluff her up with less than genuine compliments. He had always been very honest with her about her strengths and weaknesses. It felt nice to know that he thought highly of her skill.

"I really did not like being apart from you," he said. She was struck by the sincerity, the vulnerability in his tone. "I was afraid for you, afraid for Sasuke. It was torture not knowing if you would come back."

She snorted. "Imagine what it will be like for me once we're married," she said. "I'll have to stay home with the kids while you go put yourself in danger. And what happens if you die and leave my children fatherless and me a widow?"

His fingers skimmed along the top of her thigh before they drifted between her legs and brushed across a more sensitive part of her anatomy. She let out a strained whimper and let her head fall back against his shoulder.

"Don't say things like that, hime," he said. "I don't plan on dying anytime soon. And even if I did, you still have Sasuke. And Naruto and Tsunade and your parents. And Kakashi and Tenzo. And Ino. And you even have—"

"I get it, Itachi-kun," she interrupted. "But none of them are you."

"I know. I'll do my best to stay alive."

She purred contently because she couldn't ask for anything more than that. He pressed a kiss into the junction of her neck and shoulder and she felt him smirk against her skin.

"What?" she asked, feeling a smirk on her own face, too.

"Nothing," he said, pressing another kiss to her shoulder. " I just like hearing you talk about our future children."

"Oh, yeah? You're looking forward to being a father?"

"Absolutely," he answered. "I can't wait to have a family again."

"I guess I should stop suppressing my periods, then."

"Pardon?"

Sakura stifled a giggle. Being away from Konoha under such strenuous conditions had lit a fire under her. She could die on any mission. Itachi could die on any mission. She didn't want either of them to die without being married – without having any children.

And shinobi had notoriously short lifespans. Waiting might be the more prudent thing to do, but life was short and Sakura was optimistic for her future family.

"I've been suppressing my period for years," she explained. "It's a nuisance and painful most of the time, and by not having one I eliminated the risk of accidental pregnancy. But now it won't be accidental."

"You're ready to have children right now?" he asked. The shock in his tone was unmistakable and it almost made Sakura laugh.

"Sure," she said. "I want a family, too."

"Sakura, I don't want you to feel pressured into getting pregnant because you think I want you to," he said with a tone that was so patient and understanding that it was almost patronizing.

And that time she didn't stifle her laughter. "If anything pressured me, it was that mission," she said. She felt Itachi's arms tighten around her. "I could have died out there. And I would have died with no children and no husband."

Itachi was silent in response to that and Sakura wished she could see his face just then.

"And if I had died out there," she continued. "Then you'd have to find someone else. The thought of someone else being the mother of your children makes me feel physically ill."

She heard Itachi chuckle darkly and she leaned back against him, resting her head on his shoulder. He kissed her temple sighed contentedly.

"You don't have to worry about that," he said. "You're the one I want to be the mother of my children, and if you die before that happens then you'll never know about whoever your replacement is."

"I'm irreplaceable, Itachi," she said. "If I die then you better be alone and miserable for the rest of your life."

He laughed again and let his fingers splay across her thigh. Giving them a quick glance she noticed that they were beginning to get wrinkled.

"I'm kidding, of course."

"I know," he replied, pressing another kiss to her temple.

"You know I'd do anything to make you happy."

"Yeah, I know."

"I'd even let some other girl have you."

"That wouldn't make me happy," he said, his lips moving against her skin. She shifted in the circle of his arms so that she was sideways in the tub and could look at his face.

"What if she's better looking than me?"

"Impossible."

"What if she's funnier than me?"

"Humor is subjective."

"What if she's a better ninja than I am?"

"No one is a better medic nin than you."

"What if she can cook?"

Itachi hummed thoughtfully, tapping his finger against his lips. "I'd consider it," he said with mock sincerity. "But she'd have to be really, really good at it."

Sakura crossed her arms and pretended to pout.

"But you know what would make me really happy?" he asked. Sakura shook her head. "If you were already my wife."

"Already?"

He nodded, rubbing the pad of his thumb over the skin of his thigh. "Yes, we should have been married a long time ago. I knew from the moment I met you that I wanted to marry you."

"Bullshit."

He laughed. "In between my decision to either kill you or try to escape I thought, 'She would make a wonderful wife and mother.'"

Sakura gasped with faux outrage. "You thought about killing me?"

"As a last resort," he amended, though it didn't make Sakura feel any better. "I thought you would send word back to Konoha that I was in Toyeiki and I couldn't let you do that until I was long gone."

"But then you got sick."

"And a beautiful and talented kunoichi made me better."

Sakura ignored the compliment, but if the heat from the water hadn't already flushed her skin she would have blushed.

"That would have been it for me, then," she said, turning back forward and leaning back against him again. "I wouldn't have been able to escape from you. You would have killed me."

"You could have escaped," he argued. "You've caught me off guard during our spars."

"You never wanted to kill me during our spars."

"I didn't want to kill you then, either."

"But still," she mumbled. "You could have. And you thought about it."

"If it makes you feel any better," he said. "Even before I fell ill I never had any intention of hurting you. I had decided to use a genjutsu and escape. I was going to leave you underneath the tree and hope someone from town found you."

"Well, _my_ plan was just to make it through our encounter alive," she replied. "But I went and ran my huge mouth off instead."

"In all honesty, I wasn't concerned with you very much. I knew who you were, but I was more concerned with your connection to Sasuke at the time," he said. "Though I did find your brashness to be charming."

"I'm not brash."

"You are definitely brash."

Sakura huffed and crossed her arms, sloshing water out of the tub in the process.

"I did say I found that charming, right?"

"Yes, you did," she said. "But you should go back to talking about what a wonderful wife and mother I would be."

"Oh, you'd be the best," he said. "With you as the matriarch the Uchiha clan will easily grow to be even more powerful and fearsome than it once was."

"Aren't you worried about me muddying up the bloodline?"

"Only if you passed on your pink hair to my son," he said with a touch of humor in his tone. "But you've already alleviated that fear."

"So," she began, and her no nonsense tone seemed to suck the joviality from the room. "You want to get married now, then?"

"Whenever you're ready, of course," was his easy reply.

"I'm ready now."

She felt Itachi freeze behind her, his fingers pausing in their delicate ministrations on her bare legs. "Now?" he asked.

"Yeah, now," she answered. "I want to be married to you now."

"It's okay if you want to wait until the end of the year," he said. He seemed somewhat breathless and a little confused.

"No, I don't want to do that," she said. She already knew that Itachi wanted to be married as soon as possible. It was sweet of him to be concerned about her wishes, but after her mission, she was inclined to share his opinion on the matter.

"Sakura."

She inched forward and grabbed the towel hanging on the edge of the tub and sat up. "Come on, Itachi-kun, the water is getting cold," she said. She folded her legs underneath her and moved to stand up, but Itachi's firm grip on her arm held her in place.

"Sakura."

"Don't ask me to marry you while we're in the bathtub, please."

His grip on her arm loosened and she hesitantly smiled at him.

"I thought you wanted to wait," he said. "At least until the end of the year."

"I did," she said with a shrug. "But now I don't want to."

"Why not?"

"Because I am absolutely sure that you are the person I want to be with," she answered. "And I don't want to waste anymore of my time not being married to you. Besides, the sooner we are married, the sooner we can begin restoring our clan."

Itachi was visibly startled by her usage of the word 'our.' Maybe that had been a bit too much, Sakura thought. After all, it wasn't her clan yet, and even after they were married she still wouldn't be an Uchiha by blood.

An apology, a retraction of her poor choice of words was on the tip of her tongue, but before she could get it out Itachi grabbed her face and pulled her into a kiss. She shrieked and grabbed the side of the tub to keep her balance. She was sitting at an awkward angle now, but she couldn't bring herself to care too much. Itachi was warm and wet and his kiss was tender.

When they broke apart Sakura noticed that his eyes were bright and glassy. He looked relieved and happy.

"You're not going to ask me to marry you right now, are you?"

"I'm not going to ask you at all," he said with a grin. "I already know your answer."

"What?" she snapped. "I want a ring."

"Alright, let's go get you a ring."

He shifted and helped her stand up, then wrapped the towel and around once he was on his feet.

"How about I take a quick nap first?" she asked, stifling a yawn.

"How about I make you something to eat and then you take a nap?" he suggested.

"And _then_ we go get a ring."

He smiled warmly at her and kissed her on the mouth. "Deal."

.

Two days later Sakura wore a rather expensive ring on her finger, much to Ino's envy.

"It's beautiful!" she exclaimed, grabbing Sakura's hand and twisting it in all different ways so she could watch how the jewels caught the light. "So you're officially engaged now?"

"That's right," Itachi answered before Sakura could. He placed a steaming mug of tea in front of Sakura and kissed the top of her head. Sakura beamed up at him before taking a sip of her tea.

"So I guess all my meddling was for nothing, then?" Ino asked. "Itachi didn't even propose to you."

Sakura's head snapped in Ino's direction. "What meddling?" she demanded. "What did you do while I was gone?"

Ino waved her hand flippantly in the air before receiving her mug from Itachi. "Nothing, nothing," she said. "It was hardly even meddling by my standards."

Sakura glanced at Itachi who smiled but offered no information.

"Just tell me," Sakura insisted.

"Nothing drastic," Ino said defensively. "I just showed him the wooden box under your bed."

"You did _what?_ "

"Itachi wanted to know more about you and I thought it would be the best way for him to do that while you were out of the village," Ino said with a shrug. She was much too nonchalant for someone who just admitted to sharing extremely private things with someone she had no business sharing them with.

Sakura clenched her fists at her side and clenched her teeth.

"Don't be angry with her, hime," Itachi said, placing a comforting hand on Sakura's shoulder. "She was only trying to help."

"That was personal stuff," Sakura argued. "She had no right to share it."

Itachi rolled his eyes, which only served to agitate Sakura even further. But before she could snap at him, he sat down across from her with his own mug of tea and gave her a wry smile.

"I couldn't help but notice," he said. "That there weren't many things from me in there."

Sakura blanched because that was true, but it wasn't really her fault. The nature of their relationship wasn't conducive to saving knick-knacks and other sundries. Of course she kept what she had – the receipt from their date, and she still had the lilies he had given her on her kitchen table.

And now she had a ring on her finger, too.

"That doesn't mean anything, Itachi-kun," she said. "You're more important to me than all the things in that box."

Ino made a noise of adoration that both Sakura and Itachi ignored.

"I know," he said. "I only meant that I need to be giving you more things to put in there."

"You're already giving me a house and a clan. And I have this ring. And our future children," Sakura said. "You don't need to give me anything else."

Ino smacked her arm. "Don't deter a hot guy from buying you things, Sakura."

Sakura rolled her eyes, but Itachi at least looked amused.

"I wasn't talking about buying anything," he said. "I have something else for you, Sakura."

He left the room, giving Sakura an opportunity to glare at Ino.

"You're the worst," she said to the blonde. "I can't believe you showed him the box."

"He was worried about you and he needed a distraction," Ino said. "And you should have seen his face. He was so reverent, touching everything like it was so freaking precious. It was adorable."

Sakura's ire melted a little, but not enough to prevent her from sending one last glare in the blonde's direction before Itachi reentered the room.

He placed a small bamboo fan on the table in front of her. It looked to be in pristine condition. The paper was navy blue with the Uchiha fan printed on the front. Tentatively, Sakura picked it up and flipped it over, inspecting it from every angle.

"My mother made it when she was young," he explained. "She used to have it displayed in her bedroom, but she gave it to me after the first time I successfully performed a fireball jutsu."

"And you're giving it to me?" she asked, looking up at him with wide eyes.

"Yeah, to put in your box."

She set it back down on the table and stood up. "Thank you, Itachi-kun," she said, wrapping her arms around his waist. "But I think I want to display it in the bedroom."

He set his palm against the top of her head and beamed down at her. "It's yours now, so you can do whatever you like with it."

"Aww, look at Sakura all proud to be a part of a clan," Ino cooed from her seat at the table.

"I'm not an Uchiha yet," Sakura said to Ino.

"But it's only a matter of time, right?" Ino asked. "Have you guys set a date?"

"Two weeks from today," Itachi answered.

"Two weeks?" Ino demanded with a voice far too shrill to be used inside. "I don't have a dress yet. You haven't planned anything. There's no venue, no food, no music. How the hell are you going to plan a wedding in two weeks?"

"Calm down, Ino," Sakura said with a roll of her eyes. "We won't be having a ceremony. We're just going to have Tsunade marry us at the Hokage tower."

Ino's eyes widened almost comically and she blinked in surprise several times. "I beg your pardon?"

"If we plan a huge wedding we'll have to push back the date," Sakura explained. "And we both want to be married as soon as possible."

"But I wanted to be your maid of honor."

"You can still be my maid of honor."

"It's not the same," she wailed.

"Oh, Ino," Sakura said with a sigh. "It's not that big a deal. I'm sure your wedding will be grand enough to make up for it."

"I guess it will have to be."

Though there was a dejected quality to her tone (and Sakura knew that Ino would not take this information well), Ino looked happy for her best friend. When she smiled brightly, her blue eyes wavering with genuine love for her, Sakura felt so happy she thought her heart would explode.


	46. Chapter 46

"Itachi-kun, I want some watermelon."

Itachi cast a glance at his wife, whose swollen belly was pressed against his hip. Her head was resting on his chest – he could feel the tickle of her hair (which was now quite long) against his neck.

He had been thoroughly enjoying a nice nap before her request, but he knew it was only a matter of time. Napping with a nine months pregnant woman rarely ended positively.

Itachi had been forewarned, not just by Ino, Shizune, Tsunade, and Kakashi, but also Sakura herself that pregnant women tended to be on the more… unreasonable side. They had each told him tales of women going on rampages, demanding things they couldn't have, and just generally being unruly.

He had some doubts about this from the beginning. He couldn't recall his mother ever having acted that way when she was pregnant with Sasuke. Nonetheless, Itachi had prepared himself for the onslaught he was sure to receive from Sakura, who already had a bit of a penchant for violence.

However, much to his relief, Sakura was relatively normal during her pregnancy. She didn't make outrageous demands, or throw temper tantrums. In fact, for the most part, it seemed her pregnancy made her rather sleepy. She took several naps a day at this point, and she nearly always requested Itachi's presence for these.

And Itachi had absolutely no complaints about that. Nothing made him happier than curling up in his bed for a quick nap with his wife. Such a simple pleasure, it was, but it was that kind of thing Itachi never imagined he would ever be able to do.

But he was experienced enough now to know that each of Sakura's naps ended with a very specific food craving.

Watermelon was not in season. It would be nearly impossible to get his hands on some.

"Are you sure you wouldn't rather have some coconut? Or a pear?" he ventured.

"No, I want watermelon."

Itachi shifted a little bit so that he was almost sitting up. Sakura did not make this process easy as she continued to rest her full (now ample) weight against him.

"I can go look for some," he said with his most appeasing tone. "But I don't want you to be disappointed if I can't find any."

She cracked an eye open and looked at him. Itachi was suddenly swept up in a crazy surge of affection for her. She looked glowing and beautiful and she was resting on him in such a comforting way. It was hard to believe that she was his wife sometimes. It was hard to imagine a world in which a girl like her would choose to be with someone like him.

And it was harder still to believe that she was pregnant with his child – his son. Any day now the Uchiha clan would have a new heir. He would a father. Sakura would be a mother. Sasuke would be an uncle. It was just too much to wrap his mind around.

He placed his hand on her belly, feeling for any kicking or movement from the tiny baby inside. The baby had been moving for a while now, but Itachi never tired of feeling those blessed movements – ones that confirmed that there was indeed a child in there.

"He's asleep, I think," Sakura said, watching him move his hands across her stomach.

Itachi smiled at her and kissed her, feeling a pleasant bubble of warmth spreading through his chest.

"Alright," Itachi said with a regretful sigh. He carefully extracted himself from underneath Sakura and got to his feet. "There's a council meeting in a few hours so I better get started looking for that watermelon."

"I probably won't even want watermelon in a couple of hours," she admitted. "So maybe you should just stay here with me instead."

Itachi looked at her in surprise, because even though Sakura was far tamer than most pregnant women, she still could be quite demanding with her food cravings. But he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth, so he kept his mouth shut.

Instead, he simply curled back around her and smiled into her neck. How could his life possibly be any more perfect than it was right now?

"Scratch that," Sakura said and then hissed sharply. "I think I'm going into labor."

Itachi sprang up in a panic. "Are you serious?" he asked. "Are you having contractions?"

He watched her wince as she sat up and then clench her teeth. "It's okay, Itachi-kun," she placated (which Itachi might have been amused by if he hadn't felt so frazzled). "I think it was a contraction, but they're still far apart. We have plenty of time to get to the hospital."

"Okay, hime," he said, kissing the top of her head. "Stay here. I'll go get your bags."

When he returned with her bags she had somehow decided that it was best to go back to sleep. She was still curled up in the bed, her head tucked into her arms. Apparently her contractions were far enough apart that she could nap between them.

"Wake up, hime," he said with a gentle hand on her shoulder. "I need you to come deliver my baby."

.

Itachi paced up and down the hospital hallways. On more than one occasion he had been scolded by a nurse or an orderly, but he wasn't in the best frame of mind to give them any attention.

Sakura had been in labor for hours, and even though he knew she was in the best possible care, he couldn't help but be nervous. Sporadically, Tsunade would make an appearance to give him an update, but it had been almost an hour since he had last seen her and he was beginning to fret.

"How is she doing?"

Itachi whirled around at the sound of the familiar voice. In his extreme discomfort he hadn't even sensed them approach. Sasuke and Naruto stood behind him and for a moment he forgot all about his nerves because they were holding hands and he had never seen them do that in public before.

"I have no idea," Itachi said, tactfully rerouting his gaze to Naruto's face. "They won't let me see her. She's been in there for hours."

"Ah, you know how Tsunade-baa-sama is," Naruto said glibly. "I'm not sure she'd be that upset if you just went in there anyway."

Sasuke reached up with his free hand and smacked Naruto on the back of the head. "Don't listen to him, Itachi," he said. "Don't risk it."

Itachi was all too aware of the wrath of Tsunade – he didn't plan on risking it anyway. He gave his brother an understanding look. Sasuke was wearing his ANBU uniform, which still gave Itachi a bit of a shock. It had been several months since Sasuke had joined ANBU now, and Itachi couldn't shake the weird feeling it gave him to see his brother wearing those clothes.

He hadn't been alone in feeling that way. Naruto also felt it strange that Sasuke had decided to join ANBU. After all, Sasuke's loyalty to Konoha had always been shaky at best. It didn't seem congruent that he would want to do the village's dirty work.

But as both Naruto and Itachi discovered, Sasuke was good at the work and he enjoyed it. He was often sent on solo missions, which were much better suited for him than taking missions with Team 7.

Especially since Team 7 was down one very pregnant member.

Behind Itachi the door opened and Shizune popped her head out.

"You can come in now, Itachi-san," she said. Her smile was definitely an encouraging sign and Itachi wasted no time getting himself through that elusive doorway. He didn't turn back to see Naruto and Sasuke, but he could hear Naruto demand to be let in as well, much to Shizune's displeasure.

But Itachi wasn't worried about that.

Sakura was still glowing, even with her hair matted against her forehead with sweat. He could sense that her chakra level was low, which frightened him a bit, but he could see that she was beaming proudly at a little white bundle in her arms. She was fine. The baby was fine.

Hesitantly, he approached the side of her bed, peering down into her arms to see his son's face.

And it was impossible to describe the feeling of elation that floated through him when he saw that face. His eyes were screwed shut, but he was cooing and whimpering. His tiny fingers were curled around Sakura's thumb.

"Can I hold him?" he asked quietly.

"Of course you can," Sakura answered. "He's your son, isn't he?"

"Alright, let's give the new family some privacy," Tsunade said from the end of the bed. Itachi had barely registered her presence in his brain, but he was thankful for her suggestion. Shizune and Tsunade filed out of the room.

Once the door had been shut behind them, Sakura patted the bed beside her.

"I don't want to hurt you," he said. "You've been in here for hours. Are you sure you're alright? Your chakra is low."

Sakura rolled her eyes and shifted over anyway. "I'm fine, you dolt," she said teasingly. "Just sit down so you can hold your son."

This time he did as he was told and joined her on the bed. Carefully, Sakura handed the baby over. Itachi was surprised by how heavy he seemed for something so small. He was reminded so much of when Sasuke had been born – how tiny and fragile he had been.

But now Sasuke was fully-grown and capable of taking care of himself. And soon enough so would the little bundle in his arms.

The baby opened his eyes and Itachi was startled to see that they were a lighter green than Sakura's. His mop of hair was as black as any other Uchiha's – maybe even darker. Itachi's own hair was browner than Sasuke's, but it looked like this little wonder took after his uncle.

"I think his eyes might darken up once he gets older," Sakura said. He could tell by the strain in her voice that she was exhausted. He felt her lean into his shoulder, her sweat soaking through his shirt. "That happens with most babies."

Itachi made a noise of acknowledgement and held his finger out for the baby to grasp the way he had Sakura's.

"Have you thought about what you want to name him?" she asked.

Itachi paused, because he _had_ thought about it. Sakura had been suspiciously silent about naming the boy, even when pressed about the issue. Itachi had wanted to let her pick out the name. He wasn't very good with that type of thing. Sakura had been the one in charge of everything else – the new nursery, buying baby clothes and other things babies needed. Why not the name, too?

But truthfully he was grateful that she had given this opportunity to him because he absolutely did have a name in mind.

"Shisui."

"Shisui Uchiha," she murmured, testing the name on her tongue. "My son, Shisui Uchiha."

The baby cooed again and reached out to grasp Itachi's outstretched finger. His grip was strong for someone so small.

"It's perfect," Sakura said, pressing herself closer into Itachi's side so she could peer at the baby's face. "He's perfect."

Itachi agreed wholeheartedly.

.

The following weeks proved to be much more of a nightmare than Itachi had anticipated. The arrival of baby Shisui was met with celebration all across Konoha. Many of the clans brought them gifts for the baby, showing up at the Uchiha compound daily to drop off their baked goods, toys, and other things babies sometimes need.

There was constant talk all over the village of how little baby Shisui would grow up to be the most fearsome Uchiha yet. Itachi found this idea to be concerning. It was inevitable that he would become a shinobi. Itachi was well aware that his condition for the council seat was purely so Konoha would be able to have the Sharingan in its arsenal still.

But it wasn't something he liked to think about. He himself would not have chosen to be a shinobi if there had been an option. Of course there hadn't been and he was a fine shinobi. Shisui would be, too. But Itachi longed to give him that choice – to let him decide his own fate.

Itachi tried not to let these thoughts linger, because at this point there wasn't much he could do about it.

And he was far too preoccupied with the constant crying, diaper changes, and waking up in the middle of the night. Baby Shisui required constant attention and it was running both Sakura and Itachi ragged.

Itachi actually missed taking missions – even they were more relaxing than this.

But on one quiet afternoon while Sakura had retreated into the bedroom for a quick nap, Itachi found himself alone with his son who was in a rare mood. Baby Shisui was smiling and cooing, watching his father with fascination. Itachi didn't think it was possible to love someone as much as he loved that little boy.

Now that Shisui had been home for a couple of weeks, Itachi was beginning to notice the resemblances he shared with his parents. He had his mother's eyes, of course – bright and green, even shaped like hers.

But he was unmistakably an Uchiha. Itachi didn't spend a significant amount of time looking at his own face, but he could see how much the baby resembled him just by how much he resembled Sasuke. In fact, he looked remarkably similar to how Sasuke had looked when he was a baby.

He didn't know exactly why, but that thought brought a huge smile to his face. He extended a rattle for Shisui to hold. Shisui gripped it tightly in his tiny fist.

"Knock knock."

Itachi turned to the front door and saw Naruto pushing his face through the partially opened door.

"Can we come in?" he asked.

After Sakura and Itachi had been married, Sakura insisted that Sasuke move out of the main house. Itachi would have been content to let him stay there with them, but Sakura was adamantly against it. Sasuke, much to Itachi's relief, didn't seem to mind at all. In fact, he seemed rather pleased to move into a new house.

He had taken the house just across the street from them so they could still be close. It made the Uchiha compound feel alive again – and Itachi hoped that within a decade that it would begin to grow more and more.

Not long after Sasuke moved Naruto moved in with him. They had hidden this fact from Itachi – or at least purposefully avoided telling him. Itachi was well aware when Naruto started sleeping there. He could always sense the kyuubi's massive chakra. But for some reason they felt that he would not be okay with it. Itachi didn't mind at all, though. He was happy for his brother.

"Yeah, come on in, Naruto."

"I've got Sachi and Yamato with me," he said hesitantly. "They want to see the baby."

Naruto entered the house, followed closely by Yamato and Sasuke, who carried Sachi on his back.

"He's so tiny!" Yamato exclaimed, running up to look at the baby.

Itachi pulled Shisui close to his chest so that Yamato could look over his shoulder into his face. Shisui squirmed and smiled, still clinging onto Itachi's fingers.

"Can I hold him?" Yamato asked.

"Yes, but you have to be very careful with him," Itachi warned. "And make sure you support his head."

Itachi passed Shisui to Yamato, taking care to keep his head supported. Yamato grinned and started making cooing noises of his own down at the little baby, causing Itachi to grin too.

Sachi took full advantage of Itachi's now free lap and inserted herself in it to watch what was happening. She was a bit too old now for that kind of behavior, but Itachi allowed it this time. He imagined she might start to feel a bit of jealousy with the new baby around.

"How are you adjusting to parenthood, Itachi?" Sasuke asked.

Itachi glanced up at his brother and noticed with wry amusement that his eyes were locked onto the baby.

"It's a lot more exhausting than I would have imagined," Itachi answered. "He needs constant attention and he's awake all night."

"You know we're both right across the street if you ever need any help," Sasuke said. Itachi didn't know why that surprised him so much. Of course Sasuke would offer to help take care of his nephew. But it was hard to imagine Sasuke taking care of a tiny baby.

"Would you like to hold him?" Itachi asked.

Sasuke blanched. "No," he said. "Not right now. It's Yamato's turn."

"He's asleep," Yamato said with a dejected tone.

Itachi peered over into the bundle and saw that Shisui was indeed asleep.

"Okay, my turn then," Naruto said. He took the bundle carefully from Yamato's arms and smiled down at the sleeping face. "He looks just like you, Sasuke."

Sasuke grunted in response, but Itachi didn't miss the flicker of something (pride, maybe?) that flashed across his face.

"Here, Sasuke, why don't you hold him?" Naruto said, extending the bundle toward Sasuke. "You haven't held him yet, have you?"

It was true that Sasuke had yet to hold the baby. Back after Shisui had been born, the only person who had not held him was Sasuke. The only person who left the hospital before the baby had fallen asleep had been Sasuke. Did Sasuke not like Shisui? Wasn't this what he wanted – for Itachi to restore the clan?

"Ouch, Yamato, stop it!" Sachi squealed from Itachi's lap. Yamato was pulling at her hair and making faces at her.

"Hush," Itachi said, grabbing Yamato's hand and pushing it away from them. "You're going to wake the baby."

"He pulled my hair!"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Come on, guys, let's go outside and play," he said, pushing baby Shisui into Sasuke's less than receptive arms. "You're going to wake up the baby with all that noise."

Itachi was grateful when Naruto took Sachi by the hand and led both her and Yamato outside. He was less than amused, though, to see Sasuke's stricken expression while he gazed down at the sleeping baby in his arms.

"Sasuke," Itachi began. The room felt much too empty now with just the two of them and little Shisui. "Do you not like him? Why do you look so uncomfortable?"

"Of course I like him," Sasuke said defensively. "I've just never held a baby before."

"The only baby I'd ever held before was you," Itachi said. "And that was a long time ago. It's a little frightening, to be honest. He's so fragile and delicate. And I have to make sure that he grows up to be a good man."

"He's the future of the Uchiha," Sasuke agreed reverently.

"This is what you wanted, isn't it?" Itachi asked.

Sasuke looked up at him, tearing his eyes away from the baby. Itachi was startled by the intensity of his gaze and he almost flinched.

"What _I_ wanted?"

"Yes," Itachi said with a hint of bemusement. "You wanted me to marry and have children, didn't you?"

"Itachi, you didn't marry Sakura and knock her up just because you thought that's what I wanted, did you?" Sasuke asked.

Itachi blinked, not sure exactly how to respond to that. Of course he loved Sakura and his desire to be with her specifically had nothing to do with Sasuke. But if Sakura had never been in the picture, he would probably have done exactly what Sasuke suggested.

"I love Sakura. She's the best thing that ever happened to me," Itachi said. "There is nothing I wouldn't do for her. It's pure coincidence, or maybe luck, that that is the case. But if circumstances had been different, then yes, I would have married whomever I had to."

"To restore the clan…" Sasuke said uncertainly.

"For you," Itachi clarified. "To give you a new family after the one I took away from you."

Sasuke pressed his lips together in a thin line and looked down into his arms again. Maybe he had laid it on a little thick, but Itachi hoped that Sasuke understood how important he was to him. All of his actions, were motivated by a desire to make Sasuke happy. After all the pain he had caused his brother, the least he could do was spend the rest of his life trying to make up for it.

And he knew he could never really do that. But this was a good start. Sasuke was an uncle now. And he had Naruto. He could begin to put his life back together now.

"He _does_ look a lot like me," Sasuke said. Itachi heard the baby make a small, squeaky grunt. "It's a bit jarring that his eyes are green, though. Do you think he'll still be to awaken the Sharingan?"

"He should be."

Both Sasuke and Itachi turned to look at Sakura, who had risen from her slumber and was leaning against the doorframe. Itachi couldn't help but smile at the sight of her. She looked exhausted still, and was wearing some quite unflattering pajamas. But she was beautiful nonetheless.

"He has the right receptors in his eyes," she continued. "So I don't think it will make a difference that they are green."

Itachi stood to greet his wife and kissed her on the cheek. "What are you doing out of bed?" he asked. "You should be sleeping."

She smiled warmly at him and took Shisui from Sasuke's arms. Sasuke looked immensely relieved to no longer be holding the fragile baby.

"I need to feed him," she explained. "Or use the breast pump."

Sasuke made a face of disgust. "I'll take my leave, then."

"No, no," she insisted. "You stay here and catch up with Itachi. I'll go into the other room."

Itachi watched her leave with his son, his gaze lingering in the doorway long after she had gone. A comfortable silence fell over the room. Outside, Itachi could hear Sachi giggling.

He suddenly felt very tired and he let his weight sag against the chair behind him.

"Are you okay?" Sasuke asked.

Itachi looked at him and saw the concern on his face. "I'm fine," he answered. "Just tired. Overwhelmed."

Sasuke took the seat next to him. "Overwhelmed, huh?" he asked. "When we were younger you always seemed invincible. Nothing ever got to you. And now look at you – wiped out by a three week old baby."

"I wonder if it was like this for Father and Mother."

"Father always seemed so stern and serious," Sasuke said. "It's hard to imagine him holding a baby."

"You should have seen him holding you," Itachi said with a smile. "He adored you so much. It was one of the few times I saw him smile."

Sasuke smiled – small but definitely happy.

"Well," Sasuke said. " _You_ certainly smile a lot more than I remember."

Itachi let out a small noise of frustration. It was true that he had not smiled very much in his youth for reasons that were quite obvious now. But if anyone would have seen Itachi smiling, it would have been Sasuke. Itachi's happiest memories were all of Sasuke.

And now Sakura, too. And soon enough, little Shisui.

But maybe he should have been happier back then. Yes, his situation had been dire and unavoidable. But that didn't mean he couldn't have enjoyed more of those fleeting moments with Sasuke.

"Are you happy, Itachi?"

"Of course," he replied without missing a beat.

"What is it that you want?" Sasuke probed. "You've always focused on me and my happiness. But what about yours?"

"I'm happy, Sasuke," Itachi said with a hint of exasperation. "Why do you think I'm not?"

"Because almost every serious conversation we have is you explaining that you just want me to be happy," Sasuke said with exasperation of his own. "And I am happy. I understand all the pain and suffering you went through for my sake. But now it's your turn to be happy. And I want to make sure that happens."

Itachi smiled and felt a twinge of skepticism. Sasuke certainly hadn't been concerned about what Itachi wanted when he demanded that he marry Sakura and have children immediately.

"Your meddling helped push me into Sakura's arms," Itachi said. "That's the place I feel the happiest, so I suppose I have you to thank for that."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "I'm serious."

"So am I."

Sakura chose that moment to reenter the room, sans baby this time. She had a blanket wrapped around her, and in spite of the dark circles under her eyes, she was smiling brightly.

"Shisui is asleep again," she said, glancing between Sasuke and Itachi.

"Don't you want to go back to bed then?" Itachi asked. She had stayed up nearly all night with the baby crying. She had to be sleepy.

"I just want to sit with you," she said, crawling into Itachi's lap in much the same way Sachi had. Itachi lifted his arms to accommodate her and rubbed gentle circles into her back.

Sasuke stood up, looking a bit uncomfortable. "I'll give you two some privacy."

"She's already asleep," Itachi said.

Sure enough, Sakura had already dozed off and was snoring in the most unflattering manner. Sasuke rolled his eyes and left anyway, leaving Itachi grinning.

Itachi had no idea how to create an identity for himself or how to be happy independently from Sasuke. Sasuke had been the root of his entire world. And now he had a beautiful and loving wife, a strong, healthy son, and a place back in Konoha where he was respected and valued.

If Sasuke hadn't pushed him in this direction… If he hadn't met Sakura in Toyeiki… Well, his life might be completely different than this.

But he couldn't imagine a more perfect life than this one. And he was truly happy.


End file.
